Now Recording
by Maicee
Summary: When upcoming YouTuber Lucy Heartfilia finds herself collaborating with popular channel Fairy Tail, she ends up getting more than she bargained for. {youtube!au}
1. Chapter 1

Lucy presses the ' _upload_ ' button, then proceeds to fall face-first on her keyboard, her energy completely drained. "I never want to edit another video again in my entire life," she whines, turning her head towards her bed where her dog Plue is sitting. "Do you wanna learn how to edit videos, Plue? You could be my star editor."

Plue tilts his head for a total of two seconds before deciding the pain of editing isn't worth it and jumps off the bed.

"Yeah, didn't think so," Lucy sighs.

It's not that she hates her YouTube channel. Quite the opposite, actually. It's one of the only places she can truly be herself. She started it when she was new to her neighbourhood and didn't have any friends around to talk to, so she just sat at home and watched online videos all day. The combination of charisma and creativity had inspired her to try it out for herself, and now she's in deep with her subscribers in the hundreds of thousands. Why, exactly, she still doesn't know, but she's not going to question it. If people out there actually like her makeup tutorials and writing journals, then who is she to complain?

With her own video uploaded for the day, she ventures into her subscription box. There are plenty of new videos for her to watch, but she specifically looks for videos by the members of Fairy Tail, who are one of the biggest creators on the entire platform. They are her biggest inspiration, the main reason she started YouTube in the first place. They made her laugh when she felt alone being away from a home she couldn't (and still can't) return to.

One of her favourite members of the group is a girl called Levy, her personal channel named _levyreads_. It's not as wild as Fairy Tail's main channel gets, and is more about book reviews and tropes than anything else, which is why Lucy loves it so much. Books and writing are her life. Despite never having met Levy, she feels a connection to her just by their hobbies. It's astounding how easy it is to feel like you know a person without saying a word to them.

Levy's video today is a Q&A, so Lucy sits back and lets herself enjoy. It's mostly about either books or her personal life as well as a few out of the ordinary questions here and there. Everything is normal.

And then it happens.

 _"Alright,_ iheartmermaids _from Twitter asked,_ 'If you could do a collab with any YouTuber, who would it be?' _Oh, I know the answer to this one right away. Definitely Lucy from_ HeartxLucy _! I watch her with Mira and Lisanna all the time, she's an aspiring author and she does book reviews as well, but she also has all these makeup tutorials and fashion videos that are fantastic. I don't know if she watches any of us, but if she does, she should definitely hit us up for a collab. I'll have her channel link in the description."_

Lucy has to pause the video so she can scream for as long as she wants without missing anything. She's sure her neighbours think she's being murdered with how loud she's being, and Plue quickly rushes back into her bedroom at the speed of light, making whimpering noises. She stops so she can kneel down to pet him and assure him that she's alright.

"I didn't mean to scare you, Plue," she says, slowly regaining her composure. "I just can't believe Levy _noticed_ me. Mira and Lisanna, too!"

This doesn't mean anything to Plue, who just rolls over for a belly rub.

Once Plue is satisfied with the attention he's received, Lucy returns to her computer, now much calmer than before. Rather than continuing the video immediately, however, she diverts her attention to the comments section and, after a moment of hesitation, starts typing.

 _'That moment when senpai notices you. (And I'd love to do a collab!)'_

She presses send before she can convince herself otherwise, then pretends it never happened and presses play. She spends the rest of night watching videos until she's too tired to keep her eyes open, and even then, her last thought before her mind drifts into unconsciousness is whether she said the right thing. She quickly decides that even if she didn't, she's too tired to change it now.

* * *

Lucy wakes up with her face squished between her pillow and her phone. She can feel Plue lying on her back, and to this day, she still doesn't understand why he insists sleeping on top of her in some way. He's lucky he's cute. Still, she has to get up, and she gently pushes him to the side so he lands on a soft cushion. He doesn't wake, even when she slips out of bed to go to the bathroom and grab herself some cereal.

Once she's done both those things, she plops herself down at her desk and slides her mouse so her computer wakes from its sleep mode. The screen is, as always, on YouTube, and it's then that she remembers the previous night. She goes through her history until she finds Levy's video and quickly scrolls down to the comments section. To her surprise, her comment is the top-rated with over five hundred replies and counting. Most of them are positive words, saying that the two of them should definitely do a collab, even giving them some ideas.

The comment that really grabs her attention is the one from Levy herself. 'Well, I guess we have a collab to plan!'

Ecstatic, Lucy almost closes the entire browser while opening a new tab to get to her emails. The easiest way to get in touch with her is to send a message to her business email, and she's always said as much, so it's no surprise that Levy chose there to message her. She holds in an excited squeal as she opens the message and begins to read.

 _'Hey, Lucy!_

 _I've always wanted to do a collab with you, though I didn't think it'd be happening this quickly! I didn't even know you watch my videos! But I have a few ideas on what we can do, and feel free to add some stuff.'_

Below is a list of ideas Levy has, and she's indicated which are her own ideas and which are from the comments. Lucy thinks all of them are fantastic, but she eventually decides on one that catches her eye and types up a response, making sure she proof-reads before sending it.

 _'I love all these ideas, but I think maybe the Writer VS Reader one? We can make a script for all the different scenarios, things like that? I don't know where or when you wanted to do the collab, but I'm fine with just about any weekend, since I have work most weekdays.'_

If there is one thing Lucy is unsatisfied with in her YouTube career, it's that she doesn't have the money to do it full time. Granted, she could if she sold her house for something smaller, but where she is has a lot of sentimental value, as well as being easily accessible to so many places in town. And there is never any guarantee that another place would let her keep Plue.

 _'You could always go back home,'_ a nagging voice in the back of her mind tells her, but she quickly pushes it away. That is _not_ an option.

Levy responds within the hour. _'Great! Is this Sunday good for you? I don't know how much time we'll need to prepare, but if we need to extend it, we totally can. Actually, is it alright if we exchange numbers? It's usually easier for me to sort these things out via text than email. Only if it's okay with you, of course!'_

Lucy doesn't respond right away. Instead, she grabs the nearest post-it note and writes down a reminder for Sunday. She's not missing this for the world.

* * *

Sunday comes quickly, but it seems that Levy's concern about needing an extension wasn't necessary. Lucy is more than over-prepared. It's a habit of hers, really. Unless she's doing a daily vlog, she doesn't really dive into things unprepared, or wing it. It's just not her style. Thankfully, Levy seems to be the same. The two have a lot in common, something Lucy was able to find out during their text conversations. It's nice to be friends with a fellow YouTuber (or anyone at all, really, because she hasn't made a friend since moving away).

The drive to Levy's place doesn't take as long as she initially thought it would. It's just under an hour, though it would probably take longer if there was the same amount of traffic on a Sunday as there is on a weekday. Levy's neighbourhood is colourful and bright with narrow streets and beautiful gardens. For someone like Lucy, who lives right by the highway, it's a nice change in atmosphere.

She parks in the driveway after checking the address for the tenth time, then grabs her bag and camera before heading to the front door. She knocks and waits, unable to stand still, and she keeps herself calm by shifting her weight from one foot to the other. The door opens a few seconds later, and she's promptly greeted by a light laugh and a camera in her face.

"Lucy, hi!" Levy says, tilting her head so she can be seen around her camera. "I'm just recording for the daily vlog while Jet and Droy are out. They went to film some Eat Droy at this new restaurant in town. So, tell us what we're doing."

The camera is more of a comforting presence than anything, so Lucy is completely herself as she says, "We're preparing that collab we promised you. I'm not telling you any more than that, it's a secret." She presses her finger to her lips and winks as Levy laughs again and turns the camera off.

"You really are a natural at this," she says, and Lucy realises for the first time how short she is in real life. "Alright, want something to drink before we get started? Or after?"

Lucy decides on after, and so they get to work. With the two of them so prepared, they make easy work of it, and they're done sooner than planned. It's nearing lunchtime when they decide to call it a wrap, and Levy insists that she stay and eat in thanks for doing the collab with her. Lucy protests, says that she should be the one thanking her instead, but Levy insists. That's how they end up sitting at Levy's kitchen island with a grilled sandwich each.

Levy turns her camera back on and turns it towards herself. "We've just finished filming, so now we're having some fantastic lunch made by yours truly. It's not as good as Droy's, I _guess_ , but it'll do."

"What? I think it's fantastic!" Lucy says, quickly swallowing so she can keep talking. "It's better than the instant noodles I usually end up eating."

Levy gasps. "You dare diss the absolute _art_ of the instant noodle?"

Lucy almost chokes on her food as she laughs, but she doesn't get the chance to reply as the door opens and a loud voice is heard from the doorway. "Oi, Levy! Do you have any old books I can blow up?"

The man that appears in the kitchen is just as familiar as Levy is. Natsu Dragneel ( _Salamander_ , for those YouTube watchers who don't care for learning real names) is another permanent fixture on the Fairy Tail channel, is one of the loudest of the group. He's very entertaining to watch. Lucy is subscribed to his personal channel, too, and loves both his gaming videos and the vlogs with his cat. The explosion portion of his channel isn't exactly her style, but the reactions his roommates have when he blows up their stuff is hilarious.

Levy's free hand is on her hip as she says, "No, Natsu, I still haven't forgiven you for when you blew up my spare bookshelf!"

"You weren't using it!" he defends.

"That's not the point. Besides, you can't just _blow up_ books. They're _sacred_. Lucy will back me up on this."

Lucy is surprised at being dragged into the conversation, but considering it's about the protection of the written word, she doesn't mind that much. "It really is. You're destroying part of _us_ when you destroy books."

Natsu turns to her, blinking as though this is the first time he's seen her. It probably is. She wouldn't be surprised if he didn't notice her before. "Oh, hey, I know you. You're that one chick that Levy and Mira and Lisanna watch, right? Uh, Luigi?"

Lucy narrows her eyes. "It's Lucy."

"Right, Lucy." He grins and strides over, taking the last piece of her grilled cheese and shoving it in his mouth before patting her shoulder. "Thanks for the food! I'm gonna go find that food magazine Droy promised I could borrow."

And with that, he saunters out the kitchen's other door. Lucy looks back at Levy, who's still recording, and shakes her head. Levy clearly thinks the whole situation is hilarious, if her giggles are anything to go by. Lucy just rolls her eyes and smiles.

* * *

Lucy leaves not long after Natsu does (he said something about not trusting his cat to be home alone for too long before disappearing out the door), and when she does, Levy tells her they should collab again. Lucy agrees. Even if their collab isn't that successful - though she thinks it will be, because it's Levy's channel, and Levy is amazing - she knows that she will. She and Levy have become such good friends within the span of a week, and she's not about to let that go.

After making Levy promise her to text her as soon as the video is up, just in case she's at work, she heads for home. She doesn't think she's felt so satisfied with a video in a long while.

She continues talking to Levy for the next couple of days, and she keeps an eye on the channel. More so than usual. Yet it's not the collab video that comes first, but the daily vlog from the day they filmed it. It makes sense, considering daily vlogs are, well, more daily than other content. It's still exciting regardless, and she makes sure to watch it when she's on a work break. She sits down in the break room, plugs her earphones into her phone, and presses play.

It starts with Levy being excited for the day, explaining that Lucy would be there later on before letting the usual Jet and Droy hijinks ensue. Lucy waits impatiently for her arrival, and she finally reaches what she's looking for halfway through the video, a grin on her face as she watches herself appear in Levy's doorway. It then transitions to their lunch before Natsu walks in like he owns the place. Lucy giggles as she watches her own reactions to his antics, and she keeps watching as she scrolls to the comments section.

 _'OMG LEVY AND LUCY COLLAB MY LIFE IS COMPLETE GOOD THING TOO CAUSE I'M GONNA DIE WHEN THE VIDEO COMES OUT HOLY SHIT.'_

 _'natsu you can't just eat someone's grilled cheese oh my god.'_

 _'LUIGI'_

 _'#savelevysbooks2k17'_

 _'natsu and lucy look so cute together? like i ship it so hard? tHEY WERE IN THE SAME ROOM FOR BARELY A MINUTE AND NOW LOOK AT ME I HAVE A PROBLEM.'_

Wait, what?

She keeps scrolling, wondering if she'd read that wrong, wondering if that was a one-off comment. Spoiler alert: it's not.

 _'petition for lucy and natsu to be in more videos together pls.'_

 _'THEY INTERACT LIKE THEY'RE FRIENDS EVEN THO THEY'VE JUST MET!'_

 _'i know i'm jumping the gun here but natsu and lucy? yessssssss.'_

Lucy screams so loudly that her boss kicks her out and forces her to get back to work.

* * *

 _/casually slides this story across the table_

 _i've had this idea stewing about in my head for a while now, and i haven't written a multi-chapter fanfic in YEARS, so hopefully i'm not too rusty. the next chapter shouldn't take too long, hopefully i'm happy with it and won't have to constantly rewrite it like i did with this one. we'll see, though!_


	2. Chapter 2

"Alright, it's time to plan our schedule for the next month."

There's a collective groan from almost everyone in the meeting room. The only exceptions are Erza, who was the one that spoke, Freed, Mirajane, and Kinana. Natsu holds his head in his hands at the horrifying thought of planning. He knows that being such a successful channel comes with baggage like this, but he prefers to leave the planning to the others, like Erza and Mira, who actually know what they're doing. He would rather just show up, record, then go off and have some fun.

"C'mon, the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can leave," Laxus grumbles. "What do we need to plan? Just Fairy Family Friday? What else?"

"Fairy Family Friday for the next month at least," Erza starts, sitting in her chair at the head of the table. "And the gaming channel is going to need someone to fill in for a bit since Alzack and Bisca have appointments most days next week."

Bisca rests her hands on her swollen belly as Alzack says, "I _will_ know if any of you touch anything on my desk. And that includes people already part of the gaming channel." He sends Bickslow a look, but the man in question feigns ignorance, whistling to complete the look until Evergreen nudges him in the side.

"I'll do it!" Cana volunteers, and if Erza hadn't confiscated her alcohol at the start of the meeting, she'd likely raise it like a toast. "I live with these idiots," she gestures to Natsu and Gray, "so I know what I'm doing. Get ready for some Grand Theft Drunk Driving!"

For the first time since the meeting started, Natsu grins. "Hell yeah! You sure you don't wanna practice at home? I'm gonna kick your ass, you know."

Cana whacks him in the head. "Don't be stupid, I'm _great_ at games. _Who_ dominates Rainbow Road back at the apartment? Hmm?"

Natsu bows his head. "You do."

" _Exactly_."

Natsu starts to retort, but Mirajane interrupts before he can. "Sorry, changing the subject! Can I propose a guest for Fairy Family Friday?"

Erza seems surprised by the sudden change of topic, but seems to welcome it. "Go ahead."

"Well, you know Lucy, the girl Levy did that collab with? She, Lisanna, and I have all been fans of her for so long, and we'd love to have her on, please, please please?" Mira bats her eyelashes, even though she knows it won't work on Erza. It's just Mirajane being Mirajane. "She's already met a couple of us, so it's not like she's a total stranger. Levy even has her number!"

When Levy smiles and raises her phone, Erza nods. "Alright, why not? I don't know which night you want to invite her to, but if she's anything like you guys, then perhaps Singstar or Just Dance?"

"Why not both?" Lisanna suggests, and the gleam in her and Mira's eyes are not to be trusted. There are many things that go over Natsu's head on a daily basis, but everyone in Fairy Tail knows never to trust the Strauss sisters when they're up to something. Is it Lucy? What did she ever do to them? Though if Levy's in on it, it can't be all bad. If he can't trust the sisters, he'll have to put his faith in Levy.

Erza also looks suspicious, but she has no reason not to let Lucy come both days, so she says, "Sure, I trust Levy will be able to get in touch with Lucy and fill her in?"

"Yep, leave it to me!" Levy says, and that's the end of that, but the meeting continues.

* * *

Fairy Family Fridays are always filmed exactly one week in advance. It's the only day of the week where everyone is free to participate, and so when Fridays roll around, everyone sets the lounges up on set as well as the game or activity they're doing. This week is Just Dance, and Natsu is pumped up. It's not his area of expertise by any means, but he's confident that he can beat Gray, at the very least. And that's all he needs.

He's helping Elfman connect the PS4 to the TV when he hears an unfamiliar voice from the entrance (he's memorised everyone's voices, it's kind of his thing) and looks up. There's Lucy, looking slightly overwhelmed as Mira welcomes her inside, and he vaguely remembers Levy mentioning that she films at her house, not a studio. It might even be her first time at an actual studio, and he can understand how she feels. He was the same when he was first introduced to the building he calls his home away from home.

They start soon enough, all of them sitting down in the spacious set, some on the floor and others on the actual chairs. Lucy is instructed to hide behind the sofas until she's introduced and she laughs, but complies as Warren does the countdown until they start.

 _Three, two, one._

" _Hellooooooo_ , Fairies!" Mira says. She's considered the face of the channel, considering her modelling contract and unwavering charisma. "We're back with Fairy Family Friday, and today we have a very special guest with us! Drum roll, please!"

The rest of the group slams their hands and feet against anything they can touch until Mira signals for them to stop. "The one and only, Lucy Heartfilia!"

Lucy pops up from behind the couch and the group applauds, Cana even drunkenly cheering for her. Natsu notices just how composed she is in front of the camera. Despite filming in front of so many people with no real script to work on, she's doing fantastically. But it's early days. Perhaps she's just a really good actress.

Mira waits until Lucy squishes between Evergreen and Lisanna before continuing. "Today we'll be playing Just Dance, since all of you love watching us make fools of ourselves so much that you requested it nonstop! We'll be participating in teams of four, and the team that scores the most points wins!"

"We had to kick Vijeeter out 'cause otherwise he'd kick our asses," Gray calls out, and everyone laughs as Vijeeter pretends to be offended from behind Reedus' lighting panel.

"I've already decided your teams for maximum entertainment," Mira says, and there are a few protests, but she doesn't let up. That's Mira for you. "As much as I would love to separate the Raijinshu, I also can't wait to see them dance together, because we all know that's _disastrous_ , so they're team one. Team two is Elfman, Lisanna, Kinana, and Laki. Team three is Levy, Jet, Droy, and Alzack. Team four is Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Lucy, and team five is Cana, Nab, Max, and myself!"

Natsu whines. "No, don't put me on the same team as the ice princess!"

"The fuck did you say, flame brain?!" Gray shouts from the opposite couch, but Cana uses her high heels to stab him into sitting back down. He yelps and Natsu laughs in satisfaction.

Erza swivels around to face both of them. "Are you two going to fight? I won't have any fighting in my team."

Natsu and Gray both squeak and sit up straight. Some of the other suppress giggles, including Lucy, whose eyes are flickering between the three of them in amusement. At least she's not finding them to be weird. He supposes that would make her just as weird, wouldn't it?

"Alright, team one is up first!"

Erza's intimidation is forgotten for the moment as Laxus and his team rise to the challenge. Everyone knows that Laxus has never been fond of Just Dance, mainly because he thinks he looks like an idiot (which he does) and because he's the worst one out of his team. Bickslow is enthusiastic, but he doesn't have the best coordination, and he happens to make up random moves as he goes along. Evergreen is decent enough, but her heels probably aren't helping. It's Freed that's the most graceful, though, and at least three quarters of their score is thanks to him.

"Seriously, dude, how do you do that?" Bickslow asks as they return to their couch. Freed just smirks and shrugs.

Elfman, Lisanna, Kinana, and Laki take centre-stage next. Elfman is hopeless when it comes to Just Dance, so it's really up to the other three to carry them through. Lisanna is light on her feet, though she sometimes moves too far to the side, bumping into people as she goes along. Kinana is a bit too slow, quickly getting confused with the dance moves and rushing to start the next one when she takes too long. Laki is probably the best of the team, but only by a little. They quickly overtake the Raijinshu, much to Bickslow's complaints.

Next is team three, and Natsu knows how this one plays out before it even starts. Jet is going to be too fast, Droy is going to be too slow, and Levy is going to be just right, providing the PS4 doesn't have an issue with her height. It happens sometimes, and he knows she hates it. Alzack does his moves half-heartedly until Bisca shouts from beside Vijeeter to put more effort into it, and he actually becomes a reasonable player. They still take last place.

"Avenge me, Lu-chan!" Levy cries dramatically, flopping into Lucy's arms, and Natsu has to wonder how they managed to become such good friends in such a short amount of time.

Lucy promises to do as Levy wishes, and soon she and Natsu are joining Erza and Gray in front of the screen. Erza insists on having Gray on one end and Natsu on the other, which Natsu takes as an insult to his self-control, but he doesn't dare defy Erza. _No one_ defies Erza.

"Our guest gets to pick the song," Erza says, allowing Lucy to have free reign.

Lucy decides on a girl group song that Natsu only vaguely recognises, but he has no time to dwell on it. He starts dancing, his expression one of complete concentration, and he's only somewhat aware of those around him. He knows that Gray is most likely being lazy with all his moves for the sake of his cool and collected image and that Erza is giving it her all. Sometimes she even shouts for them all to step it up. Lucy, who is right next to him, doesn't seem focused, but only because she doesn't need to be. She's grinning and having a good time, getting perfect scores. She's doing better than all of them.

"Go, Lucy!" Levy cheers from behind them, and that only seems to encourage Lucy more.

When the song ends, they bump themselves up to first place and Natsu lets out a big whoop, high-fiving Lucy. "Nice, you carried us through!" He looks over at Erza. "Can we keep her?"

Lucy bursts out laughing, her face flushed from what Natsu assumes is embarrassment as she rushes over to Levy and gives her a hug.

"Celebrate while you can, buddy," Cana says, stepping forward. She hasn't taken her shoes off, nor has she put her flask down. She only lets it go when Mira snatches it out of her hands. "Our team has myself and Mira. We're gonna kick your ass. And so are the boys, as long as Nab gets off his lazy butt and stops just staring at the screen." She lightly kicks Nab in the back.

Natsu doesn't want to admit it, but Cana and Mira are _good_. Max isn't half bad either. Nab needs work, but he's better than he was last time they played, so Natsu can't help but be slightly proud. If only they weren't about to completely destroy their score.

Team five takes first place and both Natsu and Gray groan in unison, only to glare at each other afterwards. It's lucky - for everyone else, anyway - that Erza's between them to stop them from starting an all-out brawl. And he's sure that Cana wouldn't want anyone stealing the limelight of her victory away, either. She can be petty like that.

" _Winneeeeerrrrrrs_!" Cana says, sliding onto her knees and playing the air guitar. She then turns to Gray and Natsu with a sly grin. "I'm the winner, so you have to do all my chores this weekend."

They groan again.

* * *

Once filming is officially over, everyone usually pitches in to get some dinner, which is exactly what they do tonight. Subway sandwiches are on the menu, and since they were in last place during the game, it becomes team three's job to write down all their orders and carry them all back to the studio. This leaves Lucy without anyone she really knows, so Natsu decides to take the initiative and sit beside her as they wait for their meals. It's the least he can do when she worked so hard for their team.

"That was fun, right?" he says, practically falling on the couch beside her.

She's startled for a moment before she turns, and she laughs lightly. "It was! Other than the collab with Levy, I'd never filmed with anyone before. And definitely not with so many people. It was fun."

He looks at her, surprised. "Wait, really? I just sorta assumed you were hella popular with all these collabs and stuff since you're a natural on camera. And Levy, Mira, and Lisanna are always talking about your videos, so I thought you were used to it. Do you do YouTube full time?"

The smile she gives him is regretful. "I wish, but no. I haven't been able to find another place in my area that allows pets, or that I'll be able to afford if I quit my current job. It's either one or the other."

"Does it have to be in that area?" Natsu asks, tilting his head. "I mean, Levy said you were, like, an hour away or something, right? Wouldn't it be easier to move closer to here?"

Lucy looks at him, blinking, and it takes him a moment to realise where he went wrong. She may be here today, but she's not actually part of Fairy Tail. She doesn't have any reason to live in the area. She just blended in so well with everyone else that he, once again, made an assumption. He can almost hear Gray's voice in his head calling him an idiot.

But before he can rectify his mistake, Lucy just shrugs and looks straight ahead, out the window. There's not much to see, just the car park. "Well, there's nothing in particular tying me to where I am now, I guess. I could pretty much up and move anywhere if I had to."

"So, why not live around here?"

Both of them look up at Mirajane as she sits beside Lucy, a smile on her face as she continues. "We'd love to have you here. You fit right in with us! And it's always nice to have another makeup and fashion girl with us."

Lucy looks like a fish, her mouth opening and closing, and Natsu can just imagine the little bubbles and beady little eyes. "Wait - wait, would that be okay? To be one of you, to be _here_ \- I wouldn't want to disturb - I mean - you all just _met_ me -"

Natsu decides to take the initiative just as team three walks in the door. "Hey, guys! How do you feel about Lucy joining us as a member of Fairy Tail?!"

There's a chorus of cheers and Natsu laughs as he watches Lucy's eyes grow even wider. Alzack drops her sandwich into her lap, but she barely notices. Natsu laughs as she tries to find something, anything, to focus on, but ends up looking like a lost child at a carnival. Mira seems to take pity on her, patting her back and readjusting her sandwich so it won't fall off her legs.

"Just think about it, alright?" she says. "We're a pretty relaxed group around here."

Lucy lets out a shaky laugh, but her eyes are lit up like fireworks. "No kidding."


	3. Chapter 3

_'can lucy be here every week.'_

 _'i will literally give all my organs to have lucy be a regular.'_

 _'Are you guys sure this is the first time Lucy's met any of them? She fits in so well!'_

Lucy scrolls through the comments of the most recent Fairy Tail Friday video. It's only a few hours before she has to go record the next one, and she's still mulling over her answer. While she knows that she doesn't have to answer today, she wants to, because after today, she doesn't know when she's going to see all of them again. She may have Levy's number, but she's the only one she knows how to contact. Note to self: remedy that.

The thing is, she's ninety-nine per cent sure of her decision. She's found a place close to the studio that allows pets and has a decent rent, even if it's smaller than her current address. Mirajane ran the numbers with her before she went home the previous week, which was nice of her, so she knows what she would be paid if she joined them. Not that it matters. They could be paying her with those fake chocolate coins and she would be happy to join them. It's not her willingness to join that's the problem.

It all comes down to how spontaneous she thinks she's being. Everything is happening so fast, it's so difficult for her to wrap her head around, yet she doesn't want this opportunity to pass her by. That would be disastrous. And looking back, some of her best decisions have been made without too much preparation. Her running away from home had truly been a rash decision fuelled by one last argument with her father tipping the scales toward her breaking point, and now she feels more free than she ever did growing up. Starting her YouTube channel had even been a product of boredom one lazy Sunday when she had nothing to do, but her mind was full of thoughts about the book she just read, and she had to let her thoughts out somewhere.

She looks at Plue, who is once again resting on her bed. "What do you think, Plue? Should I do it?"

Plue barks and wags his tail, and she thinks it's as good a sign as any.

"Alright, let's do it."

* * *

When Lucy walks into the studio, she comes face-to-face - well, actually, face-to-chest - with Elfman, who's carrying several crates of electrical equipment. She quickly jumps back and peers around the crates so she can see him properly. "Hey, Elfman!"

Elfman shifts the crates to one arm like it's no big deal and her eyes widen, shocked at how damn _strong_ he is. She knows he works out, it's all over his channel, but what she sees in his videos is nothing compared to seeing him in real life. He doesn't seem to notice, just greeting her with a brief wave and a grin as he walks over to the corner and dumps the creates on the ground.

"How's it goin', Lucy?" he asks, dusting his hands off. "Ready to sing your lungs out?"

Lucy's smile tenses. "Well, as ready as I'll ever be, I guess. I'm not the best singer, but something tells me that's not going to matter."

Elfman's laugh is boisterous, echoing around the entrance. "Nah, it won't. Most of us can't hold a tune to save our lives."

"Good thing we're not saving any lives then," Lucy says, heading inside to the main set. Everyone else already seems to be there, and she's quickly spotted by both Mira and Levy. They rush over to her immediately.

"Lucy!" Mira greets her by giving her a big hug, which Lucy definitely wasn't expecting, but she isn't about to push her away. She's always down for hugs. "How was your week?"

She just shrugs before Levy goes in for a hug as well. "Same old, same old. Nothing really interesting happened this week. My daily vlogs weren't really daily, they were just a weekly wrap-up, really."

And it's true. Her life seems to pale in comparison to her time spent with the Fairy Tail members, and she's not sure whether that's because she's had their offer bouncing around her head for the whole week or if she's always felt this way and it just took their influence to bring that side out of her. She doesn't think it matters either way. She's already applied for the apartment, she's ready to resign from her current job, and she's more than ready to join the others with their company.

Before any of them can say another word, Erza speaks up from the set, "Alright, guys, let's go!"

Everyone heads to the set's sofas, Lucy taking a seat between Natsu and Cana. Natsu grins at her and she waves back, not as uneasy as she was a little over a week ago when she'd seen all those comments on Levy's video. The shipping comments had, admittedly, freaked her out a little, but texting Levy had helped ease her worries. This was what came with being high-profile.

 _'It's nothing to worry about!'_ Levy had texted. _'People ship all of us together all the time, so you can just ignore it!'_

Lucy took that advice and has forgotten about it completely. Natsu's a friendly guy, so of course he would treat her as though she's one of them. It's best to let the fans think what they like.

Warren does the usual countdown and Mira jumps into frame like she's a talk show host, which isn't entirely wrong. "Hello, Fairies! Welcome back to Fairy Family Friday, and we're once again here with the lovely Lucy," she gestures to Lucy, who waves, "and we're about to make fools of ourselves _again_ , because today we're singing until our lungs shrivel up and turn to dust."

"I don't think lungs can do that," Laxus says, but he's ignored.

"Today, we'll be singing duets, and the pairings will be decided completely and utterly randomly in the most cliche way possible - drawing names from a hat!" Bisca tosses the cowboy hat she often wears and Mirajane drops a bunch of papers inside after she catches it.

The pairs are drawn after that, completely at random. Natsu and Kinana, Max and Lucy, Bickslow and Nab, Jet and Elfman, Cana and Bisca, Droy and Levy, Alzack and Mira, Laxus and Lisanna, Gray and Laki, Erza and Evergreen, and Vijeeter and Freed. Lucy is slightly nervous because she doesn't really know Max, but when she catches his eye from across the room, he gives her a thumbs up. It's a small gesture, but it's reassuring. She doesn't know what it is about the Fairy Tail members and their ability to put her at ease, but she's here for it completely.

Long story short, most people's singing is abysmal. Kinana is a diamond in the rough, her voice sweet and clear as she sings alongside Natsu's questionable vocals, and she even seems in her element. Lucy wonders if she's done this before. Kinana is one of the only members who doesn't have a personal channel of her own, though she often appears in everyone else's videos, securing her spot as a permanent fixture in Fairy Tail. Perhaps she's had experience performing? Lucy makes a note to herself to ask her about that later.

Mira, Lisanna, and Vijeeter are contenders for the next best. Lucy isn't surprised by Mira and Lisanna, since she's heard their voices before in several of their vlogs, but Vijeeter catches her off-guard. She can't help but clap after he and Freed are done, and she isn't the only one. Freed asks him how he ended up being so good and he responds with, "I can't be a professional with just one talent, not in _this_ economy."

In the end, Vijeeter and Freed are the winners and Bickslow and Nab slide into last place, only just behind Erza and Evergreen (who is sulking after Jet made a comment about her _unique_ singing style).

" _Whaaaaaaat?_ " Cana whines, flopping down on the couch without looking and almost suffocating Gray in the process. "But I wanted to continue my winging streak! I have an amazing voice!"

Gray snorts, pushing Cana to the side. "Are you crazy? I've heard how you sing in the shower, do you know how many times the neighbours have complained?"

Mira does the outro and Warren finishes with a, "That's a wrap! Great job, guys."

Lucy lets herself relax, wiggling her arms around to get rid of the nervous tension she'd been building up throughout the whole thing. As much as she feels at ease around the Fairy Tail members, there is still that sense of self-doubt that comes with being in a new environment, especially one that she never thought she would be in. Filming is fun, but _exhausting_. Yet she wouldn't change that for the world.

Before she can do much else, Natsu takes the spot beside her with his usual charismatic smile. "So, Lucy, thought about our offer yet?"

Lucy isn't even surprised that he jumps straight into what he wants rather than making small-talk. It's clear from his videos that this is the type of person he is, but she actually quite likes it. It's a nice change to the people she's surrounded herself with her whole life. She wishes she was able to be so candid all the time, but whenever she tries, she just overthinks things.

"Well, actually, I have," she starts slowly, trying to stop the grin from spreading across her face too early. She's been ready to tell the others all day. "And, well, I've applied for an apartment that allows pets and I've got all the forms ready quit my job, so I don't see why not?"

She didn't think Natsu's smile would be able to get any bigger, but he proves her wrong. "Seriously? That's great! Time to celebrate, I should check what we're having for dinner, but first -" He cuts himself off and stands on the couch, his sneakers staining the leather with dirt. "Hey, guys! Lucy agreed to join us! Permanently!"

There is a chorus of cheers and Lucy is reminded of just last week when all of them agreed that they wanted her here. She covers her mouth with her hands and looks down, trying to hide just how happy she is, but she doubts it's working. Not with everyone looking at her like she's just done something impressive or won some award, and honestly? She can't help but feel the same way.

"So, new member, you know what this means," Lisanna says, swatting Elfman's arm off of her head, which he was using as an armrest. "Party at Yajima's!"

* * *

Yajima's ends up being a restaurant in town called 8-Island. Lucy vaguely remembers it being mentioned in the Raijinshu's videos of all things, and she thinks she's seen the place in some of their videos, since the interior looks familiar despite her never having been here before. The few patrons who are still in the midst of their meal look up at the large group. The only person who _doesn't_ seem perturbed by their arrival is the man behind the counter, and Lucy assumes he's Yajima from the way everyone greets him as they approach.

They're given the longest table in the place, and even then they have to push tables together and move chairs around so they'll all fit. This isn't the first time Lucy has attended such a large dinner - actually, she's attended dinners with far more people than this, but those were all high-class and uptight, so they don't count - but it's the first time she's felt as though she can be herself at one, and that is a success in itself. It helps that this is a party to celebrate her, even if it's just an excuse for everyone to run around and get drunk. Providing Cana doesn't hoard all the alcohol for herself.

"Order what you like, I'm paying!" Mira says, waving her menu around, almost whacking Elfman in the face.

Cana raises her still-empty glass with a, "Mira, the light of my life, my queen, my everything!"

Lucy giggles as she opens her menu. There's more of a selection than she originally thought, and she becomes absorbed in all the delicious-sounding dishes for a good few minutes. It's only when she hears a, "The Spaghetti and Meatball Supreme is the best, I'm just putting it out there."

She looks up at Natsu's grinning face for a brief moment before searching for the spaghetti dish on the menu, finding it beneath the 'Bestsellers' title. "Well, I guess I'll have to give that a try, won't I? I'll probably have a milkshake with it."

"Not a beer? Just checking, 'cause Cana's gonna have drunk it all in the next half our if you're not quick," he says, and sure enough, Cana's glass is now filled to the top.

"I'm _driving_ , remember?" Lucy reminds him, setting her menu down. "I'd rather not get pulled over for a DUI."

From Lucy's other side, Erza says, "Are you sure you'll be alright driving home tonight? I know you took your car, but we could look after it and drive you home ourselves, we don't mind."

Lucy shakes her head. "No, it's fine. I've driven longer trips at this time of night."

"If you're sure," Erza says, leaving it at that as Yajima himself comes to collect their orders.

Once everyone has decided what they want to eat and drink, Lucy asks both Erza and Natsu, "So, you guys come here a lot, right? Do you guys know Yajima personally, or do you just like this place that much?"

"Both," Natsu says, leaning back in his chair. "You know Makarov, right? Laxus' grandpa, he's in a shitload of our videos. He and Yajima are old friends and it was him who introduced us to the place, thought it would be great for it to get some exposure on our channels. Yajima told us not to go overboard, though, so we just end up vlogging while we're here. We make sure we mention the name and everything."

Lucy definitely remembers. It's hard not to when the old man stands out like a sore thumb despite his height. In contrast to Laxus, he's enthusiastic and ready to take on any challenge the team or the viewers give him despite his elderly status. If Lucy didn't know any better, she might assume that he was thirty years younger than he actually is.

"That's so nice of you," she says in a soft voice. "And from what I've seen of it, this place deserves recognition."

"Just wait 'til you taste the food," Gray says from the spot across from her (wait, where did his shirt go?), and Lucy figures he's been listening the whole time. "Then you'll know just how great this place is."

Lucy doesn't have to wait that long to test his claim. Their food arrives faster than she expected, especially with so many of them here, but when she asks about it, Erza just tells her that 8-Island has the best customer service out of all the restaurants in their area. Lucy doesn't know whether she's saying that because it's true or because she's biased, but she doesn't mind. She would be the same way.

"This smells amazing," she says as the smell of her Spaghetti and Meatball Supreme invades her senses. She's sure her mouth is watering.

Natsu nudges her, his mouth already full with steak. "It _tastes_ amazing, too!" he says, though his voice is muffle by his food.

Lucy wastes no time in digging in, and she isn't disappointed. The pasta isn't soggy, but it isn't hard. The meatballs are the perfect size to fit in her mouth. The sauce, the _Sauce_ , just tops everything off. Whatever method Yajima uses to get his dishes out so quickly doesn't lower the quality by any means. She doesn't talk for so long, just letting herself enjoy her meal, and she almost forgets that she has a strawberry milkshake to go along with it. When she does remember, she takes one sip and almost sighs in contentment. It should be illegal for food to be this good.

"Having fun?" Natsu asks, his steak now completely gone, leaving only a trace of sauce on his otherwise clean plate.

She nods eagerly as she rushes to swallow the meatball in her mouth. "This is _amazing_. I haven't had food this amazing in _ages_."

He laughs, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand before reaching out to steal one of her meatballs. It's gone before she can react, going straight into his mouth, and she gasps in surprise. "How dare you! What is it with you and stealing my food?"

"I like food," he says simply. "Besides, your reaction when I steal something of yours is hilarious."

She points her fork at him, as if doing so is a legitimate threat. "I will stab you with this."

His laughter only grows from there, and she's unable to keep her own down, bursting into a fit of giggles. It only stops when Natsu's phone goes off, and he snorts as he checks his messages. She raises an eyebrow, an unasked question, though she doesn't speak aloud in case it's a personal message.

"It's just my little cousin, Wendy," Natsu says as he replies. "I dunno if you've seen her in our videos or whatever, but she's mad we went to Yajima's without her. She's studying for exams right now."

Lucy does remember Wendy. It's hard not to when she's in most of his vlogs, since she lives with him, and she's sometimes even there for Fairy Family Fridays. She's adorable. Lucy can't imagine her being mad aside from the adorable little pout she sometimes does when Natsu makes fun at her expense, though even that is a rare occurrence. Everyone seems to love and protect Wendy around here.

"Tell her I said good luck. She's a high school student, right?" Lucy says, finishing the rest of her pasta, leaving only one meatball that she quickly claims with her fork before Natsu gets any ideas.

Natsu nods and types again before setting his phone back down on the table. "She is. She and Romeo - you've probably seen him, too, he's like our mini-intern? That's what I call him, anyway - are in most of the same classes, so they're studying together with Chelia, another friend of theirs. They're cat-sitting while we're here, too."

Lucy wants to ask about the cats when Cana interrupts all conversation by tapping her fork against her glass as she stands on her seat. If Yajima notices, he doesn't care. "Alright, alright, everyone finished? It's time for a toast!" She raises her glass even higher as everyone else grabs theirs. "To Lucy!"

"To Lucy!" everyone repeats, though Lucy stays silent. She finds it strange to make a toast to herself, but she raises her milkshake and takes a long sip anyway, just so she can join in the festivities.

They all leave not long after that, and it's only because of Yajima's coaxing. They're cutting it too close to closing time, apparently, but by the look on the older man's face, he doesn't mind that much. Lucy wonders if this is a common occurrence. With this group, she wouldn't be surprised.

Everyone starts piling into cars, and Lucy starts heading for Erza's when the woman in question lightly tugs on her arm, signalling for her to stay. Lucy blinks as she turns to Erza, though she's sure she hasn't done anything wrong. She quickly goes over the night's events in her head. Did she ask too much? Did she eat too quickly? Should she have spoken during the toast?

"Don't worry, you're not in trouble," Erza says with a light laugh, as though reading her mind. "I just wanted to talk to you about something."

Lucy lets her shoulders sag, just a little. "Alright, sure."

Erza presses her lips together for a moment before speaking again. "I know this offer came up very quickly and it may seem very relaxed, but something we do with all our new employees is a background check of sorts, just to make sure you are who you say you are, that you're safe, things like that. We haven't done anything official yet, just a Google search. I just wanted to know if it's alright to proceed with the background check."

Lucy's stomach drops, but not because she's done anything wrong. A background check means risking the exposure of her past, and she doesn't know if she'll be able to handle that, not when she feels so at home with all these people. She hasn't told anyone in this new life of hers. Even Plue wasn't with her in her previous life; he's a stray puppy she found while running away.

Still, she says, "Yeah, that's fine," in a quiet voice.

Erza pauses again. "If this is about the Heartfilia Konzern, I already know."

The nauseous feeling in Lucy's stomach triples. "Does everyone know?"

"No," Erza says, and Lucy sighs in relief. "Just me and Mira. We won't ask why you left and we won't tell anyone else if you don't want us to. Just know that we aren't here to know _Lucky Lucy Heartfilia of the Heartfilia Konzern_. We just want to know _Lucy_."

Lucy just stares because she doesn't think anyone has actually said that to her before. There are people back home who care about her, like Spetto and Bero, but she always wonders whether they were only pretending for the sake of their jobs. They addressed her as 'milady' and the like, and went above and beyond to make her happy, but they shouldn't have had to. All she wanted was a friend to talk to. She didn't (and still doesn't) what this class divide, she doesn't want anyone to feel as though they have to be nice to her, she just wants friends. And that's exactly what Erza is offering her here.

She doesn't realise she's crying until Erza starts panicking. "Lucy, are you alright? I didn't say anything wrong, did I?"

Lucy smiles and shakes her head as she wipes her eyes. "No, it's just - what you said means a lot to me, that's all."

Erza's panic subsides. "Okay, good. Just know that we're here for you to talk to if you need it."

"Thank you," Lucy says.

"C'mon, you guys, get in the car before I start driving this thing myself!" Cana shouts from the passenger seat.

Erza rolls her eyes, and Lucy laughs as she slides into the backseat, forcing Gray to move closer to Natsu so they're side-by-side. Their bickering only makes things more entertaining, and she hopes that things can stay this way for a long while yet.

* * *

 _another chapter, whoooooo! i just wanna say a huge thanks to everyone who's reviewed and favourited and followed! i didn't think this story would get as much attention as it did, so it means a lot!_


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Natsu keeps his eye on the group chat as he eats his Froot Loops.

 _Jet: so what sort of embarrassing way are we gonna induct lucy to the group?_

 _Droy: you know that we added her to the chat last night right?_

 _Levy: You know both of you are sitting right next to each other right?_

"Hey, guys," Natsu calls out. He can't see Gray, Cana, or Wendy, but that doesn't mean they're not around. At least one of them has to be awake. "What's some really embarrassing rite of passage we can make Lucy do?"

Gray drags himself into the kitchen with a yawn. Natsu doesn't even bat an eyelid at his almost-naked appearance. It's normal for him, especially in the morning when he's only half awake. "Cana's asleep. When I walked past this morning, she said something about not waking up at the crack of dawn. She's gonna be dead to the world for three more hours yet. Sometimes I wonder who the real kid in this house is."

"You're one to talk," Natsu snorts as Happy jumps into his lap.

"You wanna fuckin' go, asshole?!"

"You know I do, you -"

"- Could you two please stop fighting?" Both boys stop immediately once Wendy walks into the room, her cat Carla at her heels. Happy ditches Natsu to greet his fellow kitty. Wendy rubs her eyes, and Natsu thinks she looks a lot smaller in her pyjamas.

The two boys calm down right away, muttering apologies as Wendy pours herself a bowl of Froot Loops and Natsu's phone once again goes off.

 _Lucy: ...I'm gonna pretend I didn't see any of that and avoid the rest of you for the next month._

He snorts and Gray gives him a strange look.

 _Lucy: BUT GOOD NEWS!_

 _Lucy: I got the apartment I applied for, my new landlord said I can move in right away!_

"Who are you texting?" Wendy asks, covering her mouth as she speaks. She's very polite for a teenager, though Natsu figures he isn't the standard to look up to.

"It's the group chat. Everyone's trying to find out what we can do for Lucy's induction video for the channel and Lucy got the apartment she wanted, says she can move in right away," Natsu replies, slurping his leftover milk straight from the bowl.

 _Erza: Do you need any help moving in? Most of us are free today._

 _Lucy: It's fine! I can handle it, I don't have that much stuff, anyway._

 _Mira: you sure~? even if you just have to do one trip, it'd take forever, right~?_

 _Elfman: A REAL MAN HELPS OUT WHEN HE CAN_

 _Evergreen: Are you still drunk from last night wtf?_

Natsu knows he can't stay quiet when everyone else is offering to help. That just wouldn't be fair on them or Lucy.

 _Natsu: COUNT US IN THIS IS GONNA BE FUN_

 _Erza: There will be no goofing off, Natsu, we're going to be there to help Lucy._

 _Natsu: hey hey hey i'm gonna be gr8 it's gray u should be worried about he's the real asshole here_

Wendy, who has been looking over Natsu's shoulder for most of the exchange, says, "Don't be so mean!"

Gray narrows his eyes from his spot by the fridge. "What's he saying? Is he trash-talking me again?"

"Yes!" comes Cana's voice from upstairs.

" _Aaaaaaand_ she's awake," Natsu mutters, returning his attention to the chat.

 _Lucy: Well, I guess if you guys insist?_

 _Lucy: Some help WOULD be nice._

And that settles that.

* * *

Natsu is the one who runs around the house getting everyone ready. It's usually not something he does, since Wendy is pretty much the only person in the house with an actual schedule she has to stick to, at least on weekdays. Though Natsu would never admit it out loud, she's the more responsible one of the four of them. And if they're counting the cats, then it's Carla. It's definitely Carla.

Wendy stays behind so she can study more, and Natsu leaves Happy and Carla in her care. Gray takes forever to find his belt and Cana stumbles around the apartment for a good hour before she's fully awake. They make it to Natsu's car eventually (they all agree to take it because it has the biggest boot), and Cana once again calls shotgun, which Natsu appreciates. Gray is a complete backseat driver when he's in the passenger seat, at least when Natsu is driving. He doubts there's actually anything wrong and that Gray just wants to piss him off.

When they arrive at Lucy's place, there are already several cars parked outside. Natsu recognises Elfman's, Erza's, Bickslow's, Warren's, and Levy's. He's a little disappointed that they aren't the first ones there, and not just because they have to park on the street. Cana jumps out of the car as soon as he cuts the engine and he wonders if this really is the same person who was complaining about being up before noon just an hour ago. Gray takes his time, but he leaves his shirt in the backseat.

"Oi, don't strip in my car," Natsu says, grabbing the shirt and chucking it at Gray's face, but it lands on Lucy's lawn instead.

"I'll strip where I want," Gray says, but he pulls his shirt back on anyway.

The door is already open, so they just waltz inside. Furniture is being carried all over the place, and Natsu is reminded of the day the studio came to be, when all of them were figuring out where everything went. Lucy stands in the centre of what he assumes is her old living room, organising her books as the others pack things into boxes. Erza is the one actually barking out orders, which doesn't surprise anyone, but Lucy doesn't seem all that bothered by it.

"The life of the party's here!" Cana yells as she struts into the room.

"Could the life of the party get her ass over here and help me with this computer?" Laxus drawls.

With everyone here (aside from Kinana, who has a doctor's appointment, and Alzack and Bisca, the latter of whom needs to rest a bit), they make quick work of the place, almost everything fitting into someone's boot. Whatever doesn't fit ends up tied to roofs, much to Lucy's concern. It takes a lot of reassurance for her to trust them with her belongings. Natsu would feel offended if Bickslow hadn't almost broken a bunch of old photo frames she insisted on keeping with her.

It takes forty-five minutes or so for them to arrive at Lucy's new apartment, and Natsu can admit that it isn't as fancy as her previous place. Her apartment is on the top floor, so at least she has a decent view, but the building itself is grey and plain and honestly not that eye-catching. He may have missed it completely if not for the car's GPS.

They all have to take the elevator several at a time, though some - _Elfman_ \- insist on proving their strength by taking the stairs and rope several people into have a race while carrying several boxes each. Natsu is, of course, one of the people who gives in, and in the end it's him, Elfman, Gray, Max, and Cana who run upstairs like crazy ten-year-olds. It's not the best idea in hindsight, and all five of them end up being scolded by Erza for disturbing the neighbours, even though no one has opened their doors to complain. Yet.

Once all of Lucy's stuff is set down, she gives them a bright smile and says, "Thanks, guys! I really appreciate it! I didn't mean to take up so much of your time."

"Don't be ridiculous," Levy says. "We _wanted_ to help! Besides, you're not kicking us out already, are you? We still haven't helped you set everything up yet."

Lucy seems surprised, and Natsu chuckles as she says, "Wait, you guys don't mind?"

"Of course not," Laki says. "That's what we intended to do from the start anyway, right?"

Lucy's smile is grateful this time around. "Thanks. You guys are the best, really. Let me at least go and get lunch for you guys before we start setting stuff up. All of you deserve a break, what you want? It's on me."

"Takeaway pizzas from Yajima's," is Droy's instant answer. "Hands-down the best thing you'll ever taste."

"People have been saying that a lot to me lately," Lucy says, and her eyes quickly flicker to Natsu before she continues. "Alright, what type does everyone want? And I'm gonna need a hand carrying them all."

Natsu raises his hand like an eager grade-schooler. "Pick me, pick me!"

"You'll eat all the pizzas before you even make it back here," Gray says, rolling his eyes.

"I'll make sure he doesn't," Lucy promises, getting out a small notebook from her handbag. "So, pizza flavours?"

* * *

As they stand in the elevator, Natsu notices just how tired Lucy seems. She's leaning against the back of the elevator with her eyes half shut and her arms folded, like she could go to sleep standing up, and there is a faintest hint of dark circles beneath her eyes that are more than likely covered by makeup. He wonders if they've tired her out already.

"Long day?" he asks when they reach the ground floor. When Lucy looks at him quizzically, he clarifies, "You just look really tired, that's all."

Lucy shakes her head. "No, I just didn't get enough sleep last night, that's all. And when I can't sleep, I usually talk to Plue, and when I talk to Plue in the middle of the night he'll snuggle up to me and his fur gets in my nose, which makes it even harder to sleep -" She cuts herself off, laughing nervously. "Sorry. I guess it's just been such a big change in such a short span of time. I'm not really used to making choices really quickly like that."

"You're not regretting joining us, are you?" he asks with a frown.

"No, absolutely not!" Lucy quickly insists. "Quite the opposite, actually. I've, um, well, I always dreamed of at least _collaborating_ with you guys at least once, and actually _joining_ you guys seemed like something so far away, and then it actually happened just like _that_ ," she clicks her fingers, "and I'm still wrapping my head around it. I'm not quite sure what I can bring to the table."

Natsu slides into the passenger seat of Lucy's car (it smells like bubblegum, he likes it). "You do fashion and makeup and writing, right? That's plenty! Levy's the only one who does any story and writing stuff, and I dunno much about the whole makeup thing, but Mira will tell you that she'd love to have you join her for her videos. You're a natural, 'kay? Don't _think_ so much."

"I'm a writer," Lucy says with a wry smile. "I _always_ think too much."

"Well, I know how to fix that." Natsu rummages through his bag and takes out his video camera, switching it on and turning it towards him. "Vlogging! We're getting _pizza_!"

Lucy laughs. "Oh my god."

"We just helped Lucy move into her new apartment, we insisted, and now she's paying for our late lunch! Because she's the best person ever and deserves the world and is amazing, and did I mention the best person ever?"

"You're only saying that because I'm buying you food."

"That's not the _only_ reason."

Lucy gives him a _look_ that he quickly captures on camera, and she pokes her tongue out at him before focusing on the road again. "You'll probably end up stealing one of my pizza slices. I don't trust you around my food."

"Yet you took me with you to get the pizza."

"You volunteered. I'm telling Erza you're bullying me."

"You wouldn't."

"I _would_."

Natsu pans the camera back to himself. "You guys see this? This is hardcore anti-Natsu behaviour."

"Do you ever think that maybe there's a reason for this anti-Natsu behaviour?" Lucy says. "And to be fair, I have my reasons. Most times I've met you, you've stolen my food from me in some way or another, so why should I believe you now?"

Natsu has to think on that. He looks at the camera as though the soon-to-be audience can help him. "Uh, because you're a lovely and wonderful person whose car smells like bubblegum, so you're willing to overlook previous offences."

"My car smells like bubblegum because _I_ smell like bubblegum."

"That's what you took out of that?"

"Yep."

"Well, still, lovely and wonderful people who smell like bubblegum overlook previous offences of their friends and face forward."

"Like you do with Gray?"

Natsu has no answer for that, and he just looks into the camera for a few moments. A sign that he's admitting defeat. "Okay, well I'm gonna go before Lucy embarrasses me any further. See you when we're having pizza!"

Lucy just laughs as he turns the camera off. They're only two or three streets away from Yajima's now, and Natsu realises he never actually gave Lucy the directions. She doesn't even have a GPS. Did she decide to just wing it without asking for help?

Which gives him an idea. Sort of. He thought it went without saying, but if Lucy thinks too much, perhaps she never thought of something so simple. "You know how you talk to Plue when you can't sleep?" She hums and nods, eyes still on the road. "Why don't you just text me about it? I'm awake at weird hours, anyway, so it doesn't worry me. Or you could just text Levy or Mira or something, they're better with advice anyway. Erza gave you all our numbers last night after the ride home, didn't she?"

Lucy pulls into the 8-Island parking lot. "Yeah, she did," she says softly. "You sure you don't mind?"

Natsu grins. "'Course I'm sure! Now, let's go get us some pizza!"

* * *

Later that night, after everyone's returned home for the night, Natsu finds himself unable to sleep. There isn't any particular reason for it. It's just something that happens to him sometimes, when it's after midnight and there isn't anything to stop him from thinking. Happy's asleep beside him, so consulting him is no good, and everyone else in the apartment is asleep. He wouldn't want to bother them, anyway, even if it's just because he wouldn't know what to say.

It's nights like these where he misses his father and his aunt, that his heart aches for Wendy, because while he lost his father when he was young, she lost her mother when she was even younger. He wonders how different his life would be if his family was still complete. Would he and the others have started the channel? Would the channel still exist, but he wouldn't be part of it? How different would he be from the person he is today?

Before he can descend into _3am Thought Hell_ , his phone vibrates and he reaches over to check his notifications, glad for the distraction.

 _Lucy: Hey, I know it's like 3am but you told me to text you if I couldn't sleep, so..._

 _Lucy: So, hi?_

 _Lucy: If you're awake, that is. If I woke you up, just go back to sleep._

He's wide awake before he even realises, typing a reply.

 _Natsu: nah it's fine i couldn't sleep either_

 _Natsu: what's up?_

 _Lucy: Nothing, really._

 _Lucy: I think it's just that feeling of sleeping in a new place?_

 _Lucy: I had this problem last time I moved, too._

As someone who can fall asleep anywhere, he can't relate, and he chuckles to himself. Softly, of course. The walls are thin.

 _Natsu: i'm so amazing that i can sleep anywhere_

 _Lucy: Why does that not surprise me?_

 _Natsu: should i take that as an insult?_

 _Natsu: i'm taking that as an insult_

 _Lucy: Take it any way you like, I'm neither confirming nor denying._

 _Natsu: why r u like this?_

 _Natsu: :( :( :( :( :(_

 _Lucy: Don't you think 5 sad faces is a bit excessive?_

 _Natsu: never_

 _Natsu: u think that's excessive? wait til i bring out the memes_

 _Lucy: DON'T YOU DARE_

 _Natsu: [image sent]_

 _Lucy: [image received]_

 _Lucy: IS THAT A FUCKING PEPE I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU_

 _Lucy: FRIENDSHIP CANCELLED_

Natsu just laughs again, his previous worries now no more than a fleeting memory.

* * *

 _so uh fun fact? i finished this chapter maybe... 10 hours after i finished the last one because i started writing and i couldn't stop i'm slightly concerned. but i decided to wait a bit before posting it, and i'm about halfway through the next chapter? something like that!_


	5. Chapter 5

The following week is full of Lucy's official admittance to the channel. It's not as insane as she thought it would be, just a contract to look over and sign, and soon she's a proper member. It's easy to slot herself into several of the channel's segments, like the DIY videos that Lisanna and Mira usually do as well as any and all talk of beauty. The skits are the best part, though, being able to act like a different character for a while. It's exciting, and everything feels so professional. Most of the time, anyway.

It's Thursday when the door open and Lucy stops mid-script-planning because she's sure that everyone she knows is already inside the building. She looks up whenever anyone walks past, and she, Mira, Kinana, Reedus, and Laxus are the only ones inside the main room as of now. The others are elsewhere, working on other things, and Natsu said earlier that Wendy and Romeo wouldn't be coming in until their exams finish tomorrow. That's why stares at the entrance when a man she recognises but has never met walks in.

"Oi, old man," Laxus greets, breaking Lucy's concentration when he gets up and strides over to his grandfather.

If Lucy is being honest, she can't see the family resemblance between Laxus and Makarov. Not only is Laxus tall and buff while Makarov is stout and thin, but their personalities (or what she's seen of them, because all she has to go off of is Makarov's behaviour in videos) are also completely different. Perhaps it's some sort of generational gap? She doubts she'll ever ask.

"Haven't I told you to respect your elders?" Makarov says, but he's smiling.

Mira rushes over. "Master! I didn't expect to see you today."

"I didn't expect to be here," Makarov says, giving Mira a brief hug. "I had time, so I'm here."

"You shouldn't just walk in as you like, you know. We could be in the middle of filming or something," Laxus says.

Mira waves off his complaints. "Don't be ridiculous, he's more than welcome, even if we're filming. The fans love him! Speaking of which, have you met Lucy?"

Lucy perks up once her name is mentioned, and she can't pretend she wasn't looking when everyone's now staring at her in return. She smiles nervously and waves as Mira leads Makarov to her. He's much shorter in real life than she anticipated.

"The newest recruit? You poor thing, I hope they haven't been treating you too badly," Makarov says, offering his hand to shake.

She shakes his hand, her free one twirling her pen. "They've been fantastic, actually. More than I could hope for."

There's a spark in Makarov's eyes as he says, "Ah, they haven't had the embarrassing induction ceremony, have they?"

Lucy could have gone her whole life without being reminded of that. Ever since Jet started the topic in the group chat a week ago, it's been in the back of her mind, and she dug deep into the channel's old videos to see what she was getting herself into. When Kinana joined, she was forced to read explicit fan fiction. The time before that when Bisca joined, she had to stand on Yajima's roof and promote the restaurant with an, as Vijeeter had put it, _interpretive dance_. Even Wendy and Romeo had undergone some sort of food challenge that had Wendy swearing off sour food for the rest of her life. Needless to say, Lucy isn't looking forward to whatever she has to do.

"No, they haven't," she sighs, and Mira giggles.

"We're still thinking on what we're going to have her do," Reedus says from the editor's desk.

Makarov's laugh is boisterous. "You'll find something appropriate, I'm sure. But for now, could I ask you to gather the others? I have an announcement to make."

They all head off to collect the others, people entering the main room one by one. They hit a snag when the gamers refuse to come out of their gaming office for fifteen more minutes because they have a video to wrap up, but they soon wander out and join everyone else. Erza practically forces them to.

Everyone is talking at once, and it takes Erza kicking desk chairs into the crowd to make them stop. Once she's satisfied, she turns to Makarov and says, "Please continue."

Makarov nods at her and climbs onto one of the unused desks near the front of the room. "Alright, listen up, you brats! When I was at work, we were talking about having a film festival for amateur creators, and all the others were talking about how they'd gotten their favourite up and coming film makers to sign up, saying how they'd beat everyone else, but I saw their stuff and thought, _'My brats can do better than that!'_ "

Lucy vaguely remembers Makarov (and several of the other members) mentioning that he works as a film critic, and things suddenly make more sense. Then his words sink in and she blinks. Is this going where she thinks it's going?

"So, I decided to sign you all up," Makarov continues, pulling a flyer out of his pocket. It's a little crumpled and there's a rip at the top, but Lucy can see the words _'Crocus Film Festival 2017'_ in big bold letters. "I know you'll be able to do it."

Laxus snatches the flyer from Makarov's hands, and his movements are so harsh that Lucy winces. "The fuck, old man? You can't just do that shit without our permission! We're pulling out, fuck it."

"Hold on."

Everyone turns to Freed, who has his thinking face on. It's rare for him to ever disagree with Laxus, but from what Lucy has seen during the past few weeks, he is also the person who keeps Laxus from exploding. This is probably another one of those times. She just didn't expect it to be now.

"You were telling me about how you wanted to make a short film, right?" Freed says, looking at Laxus. "Why not take this opportunity and run with it? The deadline is a few months from now, and we've had tighter deadlines before, so I'm sure we could pull it off."

Laxus' expression is a combination of stubbornness and sulking. Lucy would laugh if she wasn't waiting for his response with baited breath, because honestly? The idea of making a short film is _exciting_ , and a quick scan of the room tells her that the others think so, too. Everyone is anticipating Laxus' response, because if anyone can get him to agree, it's Freed.

Then among the silence, Natsu says, "What, too scared to take up the challenge?"

Laxus narrows his eyes at Natsu, because it's clear what the younger man is doing, but if Lucy didn't know any better, she would say that it's working. She's sure that half of the stuff Laxus does on camera is because someone challenged him to. With this group, it's a very real possibility. Her eyes dart between Natsu and Laxus as she watches Natsu's shit-eating grin and Laxus' calculating expression.

"Alright, fine," Laxus finally says, and he puts his hand up to stop any premature celebration. "But if we're gonna do this, we're gonna go all in. This isn't just some fuckin' side-project, this is some real deal shit, I don't care how much work we have to put into it, we're winning this thing."

"Well, obviously," Gray says, smirking. "Fairy Tail comes to _win_ , not to get a pat on the back for participating."

Cana takes a swig from her flask. "Gray, your clothes."

" _Fuck_."

* * *

Roles are quickly designated. Laxus is the obvious choice for director, and it will be the usual team when it comes to editing and sound. Lucy, Levy, and Freed are in charge of writing the script based on the different ideas the group bounce off of each other during brainstorming. Lucy is impressed with how quickly the main concept is pieced together. Everyone appears to be on the same page, and any minor disagreements are usually resolved with an even better idea. Lucy takes notes at an alarming rate, different scenes running through her head, and soon she has several handwritten pages covered top to bottom.

"You're really into this, aren't you?" Natsu says as he slides his chair beside hers.

"Of course I am," she says, adding to the growing list of characters. "Writing stories is what I _live_ for."

Natsu's low laughter is drowned out by Evergreen's, "Who's going to play who, though?"

"Ooh, ooh!" Natsu shoots up like a rocket. "Can I play the dragon king guy? He sounds like a _badass_. He can control _fire_ , for fuck's sake!"

"He's one of the two main characters, Dragneel, think you can handle that?" Gray taunts.

Natsu slams his fist down on the desk so hard that Lucy almost drags her pen over her entire paper. She sends him a look that he ignores. "Of course I can! It's like this part was _made_ for me. What are _you_ gonna do, play Tree Number Three?"

"Fuck off," Gray grumbles. "I'll play one of the nature spirits or something. The one that fights the dragon king is preferred, though. The ice one, right?"

"I'll be the fortune teller," Cana says, lifting a hand. "She gets to be all mysterious and creepy, so basically the complete opposite of me."

Lucy scribbles down who is playing who as the discussion continues, giggling to herself as certain roles are cast (Elfman and Evergreen as the bickering married couple who live in the woods? Yes, please). Within the next half hour, most of the roles are filled, but there are still some gaps. The biggest one is at the very top of the list.

"So, who's going to play the celestial princess?" Mira asks.

Lucy would be lying if she said she didn't want the role. The character of the celestial princess sounds so wonderful, and she's always loved stars, always thought about whether the stars are a world of their own with their own inhabitants and royalty. She knows that it's just her writer's mind running away with her, but it's a concept she's loved since she was a young child. She has her mother to thank for that.

Yet she doesn't put her hand up. She's nervous, and while she believes in herself enough to play the role decently, she doesn't want to take the opportunity away from anyone else. But no one else has raised their hand yet either, most likely because the majority of people in the room already have their names attached to other characters. She should just take the chance.

She puts her hand up. Everyone turns to her. "I'll do it." Realising she sounds too eager, she coughs and tries to keep herself calm. "I mean, if no one else wants to, of course."

Is it just her imagination, or does Mira look a little _too_ happy about her volunteering? "Fantastic! That's all the main roles filled, we'll still need a couple of people to say a line or two, but other than that, we're all set!"

"Alright, everyone!" Lisanna calls out, waving her tape measure to get everyone's attention. "I'll need to measure you all to make your costumes!"

As people start heading to Lisanna's side, Levy sits on Lucy's desk. Lucy doesn't think she likes the smug look on her face. "So, the celestial princess, huh?"

Lucy blinks. "Well, yeah? I really love her character, the whole _stars_ thing."

"And she and the dragon king fall head over heels in love with each other, forbidden love from two realms." Levy places her hands on her chest, like she's in the middle of some Shakespeare play.

Oh, right. Lucy forgot about that.

"Be professional, Levy," Lucy chides, lightly tapping her pen against Levy's leg. "You were the one who told me to take the shipping comments with a grain of salt, remember?"

"And I still stand by that," Levy says. "But don't think I haven't seen all the late night text convos on your phone." She picks Lucy's phone up from the desk and unlocks it (Lucy told her that passcode for _emergencies_ , thank you very much), and Lucy remembers just whose message log she'd been on when she locked it earlier.

She makes a dive for the phone. "Gimme that!"

Levy dodges easily. "C'mon, this is cute!"

"We're just friends," Lucy says, and when Levy gives her a sceptical look, she says, "Very good friends."

Levy still doesn't look convinced, but when it's clear that Lucy isn't going to fold, she just sighs and returns the phone to its original spot. "Whatever you say."

 _"Wait, what?!"_

Both Lucy and Levy look towards the entrance where Erza is standing and, to Lucy's surprise, she's beet red. Kinana raises her hands and steps back, and Mira, who is standing beside the entire exchange, is finding the situation incredibly amusing. Laxus just looks annoyed. Eager to gossip at someone else's expense rather than her own, Lucy heads over with Levy at her heels.

"What's wrong?" she asks, standing opposite Mira and Laxus so she's creating some sort of circle.

"Nothing, really," Mira says with a bright smile. "We were just talking about what we should do for the soundtrack, and Kinana suggested this really good band she has ties with, they're pretty famous on YouTube - Oracion Seis, if you've heard of them - and it just so happens that Erza knows their manager."

Lucy feels as though there's a story there, but now isn't the time. "That's great! Then we should have music sorted, right?"

Mira nods eagerly, resting a hand on Erza's shoulder. "Kinana, you want to see Erik, right? Why don't you take some of the others and go down there yourselves? I'm sure he'd love to see you. I'd go myself, but I have to stay and help Lisanna set up some stuff for the next DIY show."

Lucy can almost feel Erza's panic as Kinana considers the idea. "Alright, I don't see why not," she finally says. "Erza, Levy, Lucy, would you mind coming with me?"

"Of course! Of course we'll come with you," Erza says, perhaps a little too loudly, and Laxus snorts.

"Have fun with your boyfriend," he says, though he's looking at Erza when he says it, and she just hides her head in her hands.

* * *

Kinana is the one who drives them down, since she knows the way off by heart. Lucy spends her time alternating between concern for a suspiciously silent Erza and researching the band they'll be (hopefully) hiring for their film. She actually has heard of Oracion Seis, or she's at least seen them around on YouTube. They're an up-and-coming band known for experimenting with genres, and they have a very edgy style, even going by stage names rather than their real names. Of course, the internet is a place of knowledge, and she can find them with a simple Google search.

Another search reveals the name of their manager, a one Jellal Fernandes, and Lucy wonders where he and Erza know each other from. She isn't about to pry, though. If she's being completely honest, it's a little unsettling to see Erza so quiet, and if Erza wasn't as tough as she is, she would be a little more worried.

They arrive a little later than expected, but Kinana doesn't seem too put off by it. "It's normal to be set back a bit by the traffic," she says as she pulls into the studio building's underground parking lot.

Following Kinana's lead, they head to the elevator and wait for her to press the button to one of the top-most floors. Lucy taps her feet to the elevator music as they ascend. It's different than the usual elevator music, more pop-sounding, and she wonders if the studio plays songs their artists have made all around the building. It would make sense.

The elevator opens into a classy looking lobby with red carpet blue walls. It should be a little jarring, the contrast, but Lucy finds that she likes it. Kinana approaches the reception desk, which is being attended to by a pink-haired woman. Said woman looks up once a shadow falls over her desk and she smiles brightly. She recognises Kinana, at the very least.

"Kinana, hi! I wasn't expecting you today!" She peers around Kinana and spots Erza, her smile becoming even wider. "And Erza, too! I haven't seen you in forever!"

Erza smiles, though she still seems uneasy. "Hello, Meredy."

"Sorry I didn't call ahead," Kinana says. "I'm here to see Erik, but I'm also here to ask him and the others about something work-related. If I have to make an appointment, that's fine -"

"- Of course you don't have to make an appointment!" Meredy says, waving her hand dismissively. "Erik's always grumpy, but when he sees you he's happier, which means he works better. You're our lifesaver, you know."

Kinana flushes and shakes her head. "I'm sure that's not true."

"Oh, it is. You just don't see it 'cause he's _always_ happy around you," Meredy says before pressing a button on her desk phone. "Hey, Jellal! Kinana's here, and guess who she brought with her? Just guess!"

 _"Meredy, would it kill you to behave a bit more professionally in front of our guests?"_ comes the reply from the speaker phone.

"Yes," Meredy says, smirking. "And you didn't even try to guess!

Erza steps forward. "That won't be necessary, I promise -"

There is a crash from the other end of the line and Meredy starts cackling. Lucy can feel a fit of giggles coming on herself, but she manages to suppress it in favour of sparing Erza from any further embarrassment. For now, anyway, because she feels as though it's only going to get worse once Erza and Jellal see each other face to face.

"Just send them in, Meredy," Jellal says in a tired voice.

"Will do!" Meredy replies cheerily, releasing her hold on the button. "Just go straight in! They're in the break room, Kinana will show you the way."

Kinana says a quick 'thank you' before heading into a corridor off to the side. There are several doors, all of them closed, but Lucy is more interested in the decor. There are awards hung on the wall as well as autographs and photos of different artists. There are quite a few of Oracion Seis, probably because this is their designated area of the building. She assumes that the blue-haired man beside Meredy in most of the pictures is Jellal, but she's about to find out.

They stop outside the last door to the right and Kinana knocks. The door muffles the sounds from inside, but Lucy can hear someone wolf whistle, and laughter follows. It's only when the door opens that everything can be heard, though not seen, because Erik, otherwise known as Cobra, stands in the way. He's taller than Lucy anticipated, but any air of intimidation he may have had disappears once he sees Kinana. It's quite cute.

"Hey," he says right before he spots everyone else. "You brought friends? That's a first."

Kinana just smiles. "That's because I'm not just here to hang out. We have a business proposition for you."

This surprises Erik, who raises his eyebrows, but he still moves out of the way so they can all enter. "Well then, come on in."

They enter into some sort of lounge decorated with music memorabilia, the smell of coffee filling Lucy's senses, and it doesn't take long to find out why when there are half a dozen coffee cups on the main table. The rest of the band sits on the sofas towards the edge of the room. Lucy vaguely remembers each of their names, and it seems that all of them are here. The lead vocalist, Sorano (Angel), is adjusting her high-heels, her elbow occasionally jabbing Sawyer's (Racer's) side, much to his annoyance. Richard (Hoteye) is notating something on a series of music sheets and Macbeth (Midnight) is asleep with an entire sofa all to himself. Jellal is sitting in the single armchair in the room, looking incredibly nervous.

"Hello, Jellal," Erza says, surprisingly composed compared to how she was acting previously. "It's good to see you."

Jellal smiles, and Lucy notes that while there is definitely some nervousness there, his eyes speak louder than his mouth does. He looks so _happy_ to see her. It's subtle, but it's there. "Likewise, Erza."

"So, what's up?" Erik asks, deciding to ignore the two other lovebirds in the room as he shoves Macbeth so he's only taking up half of the couch as opposed to all of it.

"Well, Fairy Tail is entering a short film contest and we were wondering if you guys could do the soundtrack for it," Kinana says. "As long as you're not busy, of course. The deadline is in a few months, so it all depends on what you're doing."

The band, with the exception of Macbeth, shares a few looks that Lucy can't quite interpret, and it's Erik who speaks again. "Well, I'm down for it."

"Of course he is, it's for his _beloved Kinana_ ," Sawyer says, not bothered by the glare Erik sends his way. "But I'm down for it, too. What genre is it?"

"A fantasy romance," Levy says, then gestures to Lucy. "Lucy and I can fill you in on the rest of the plot details if you need them."

Sorano sits up, crossing one leg over the other. "A fantasy romance? Sounds like my sort of genre. I'm in."

"I have endless ideas for love songs," Richard says, and is he _swooning_?

Lucy eyes Macbeth, who hasn't moved since they began save for the rise and fall of his chest as he breathes. "Um, is it alright to make these decisions without everyone's input?"

Sawyer shrugs. "He's asleep for _most_ meetings we have, so I wouldn't worry about it. As long as we tell him what's going on, he's usually fine with what we do. And if not? Tough luck." He looks to Jellal. "Now we just need our manager's input."

"You're actually asking for my opinion? Are you feeling okay, Sawyer?" Jellal jokes, but quickly sobers up. "I'm all for it. From a business standpoint, it's good. Fairy Tail is one of the most popular channels on the platform, aren't they? It should be good exposure."

Erik leans back in his chair, smug. "Please, don't act as though you don't know. You watch them just as much as I do. Whose videos are you usually watching?" He nods towards Erza. " _Erza's_ , right?"

Jellal coughs and Erza looks away, though Lucy can see the faint blush on her cheeks. The two are saved from further awkwardness by someone's ringtone, and by the apologetic look on Levy's face, it's hers. Lucy watches her expression change to one of confusion.

"Sorry, I have to take this."

She moves to the opposite corner of the room and starts speaking in a low voice, too low for Lucy to hear. Rather than trying to eavesdrop on her friend's conversation, she turns to everyone else with a smile, and this seems to gather everyone's attention.

"So, the plot of our film -"

 _"Wait, what?!"_

 _'Deja vu,'_ Lucy thinks as everyone turns to Levy, who is clutching her phone with both hands, biting her lip. Lucy quickly rushes over and puts a hand on Levy's shoulder. The sudden change in her friend's behaviour is too concerning for her not to.

"Levy? What's wrong?" she asks.

Levy sucks in a deep breath, and Lucy can vaguely hear the panicked voices of Jet and Droy on the other line. "They're gone. All the - our entire - all our videos on mine, Jet, and Droy's channels. They're all gone. We've been _hacked_."

* * *

 _DUN DUN DUN._

 _it's 2am but i'm posting this now because what is time_


	6. Chapter 6

"What the fuck?!"

Natsu stops messing around with the set when he hears Jet's voice from the other side of the office. He and Gray share a look before bolting over there, only to find Jet and Droy standing over one of their laptops with horrified faces. Natsu and Gray aren't the only ones there, either. Laxus and Freed are staring over the boys' shoulders with matching frowns and Mira and Makarov are weaving their way through the desks to reach them. Neither Jet nor Droy seem to notice, their eyes completely glued to the screen.

"What is it?" Gray asks as a disgruntled Cana trudges downstairs. She was probably napping.

"All our videos are gone," Droy says, his voice sounding faraway.

Natsu's eyes widen. He heard that correctly, right? "Everything? On just your channels, or what? What's going on?"

"My channel, Droy's channel, Levy's channel, our shared channel," Jet lists off. "The others are fine, I checked, but why just ours? Years of work, just completely gone. This isn't just some sort of prank or something, right?"

He asks the question, but Natsu knows he already has the answer. If this is a prank, it's a well-executed one, because it's impossible to just hide videos without deleting them. Someone has hacked into these accounts, but that begs the question - _why_? Is it because they're a bored kid with nothing else to do? Or are they getting something out of this?

"I'm gonna call Levy," Droy mutters, pulling out his phone and moving away from the forming crowd.

Makarov's face is serious as he takes Droy's place in front of the laptop, staring at the screen. The page looks so empty without anything in the 'uploads' section of the channel. Natsu swallows thickly, but stays silent, waiting for Makarov to say something. If anyone will know what to do, it's him.

"First, we need to find out who's doing this. And it'll be a good idea to say something on Twitter and other platforms to fans so they know there isn't anything to worry about." The second part of that statement is directed at Jet, who nods and takes out his phone, moving to where Droy stands. "After we're able to put a stop to the hacking, we'll make sure to re-upload all the old videos."

Jet and Droy come back seconds later, only slightly more calm than before. "We just called Levy, she and the others are coming back right away," Droy says. "She says Oracion Seis agreed to do the music, by the way."

Laxus nods, but his expression doesn't change. "Great, I'll write that down."

Droy sighs, falling back in his desk chair. "I'm just gonna sit here, refresh the page for a while - wait, what?"

"What is it?" Makarov asks.

It's easy to see over Makarov's head, so Natsu takes a look and, right there where the channel's most recent video should be is a single video. The thumbnail is completely black, giving nothing away aside from the title. ' _HACKED_ '.

Droy doesn't give anyone the chance to discuss it. He clicks the video and everyone gathers around, waiting for something, anything, that might give this person away. There's nothing at first, but then Natsu hears it, and by the looks on everyone's faces, they do as well. The sound of an electric guitar surrounds the otherwise silent room, the background music to everyone's confused expressions.

And then it begins.

 _"Shooby doo bop, just doing my job. Shooby doo bop, betcha lookin' at me like a snob. Shooby doo bop, the guy that came in was a real stiff dude. Shooby doo bop, when I asked he said his name was Jude."_

Mira narrows her eyes. "Jude?"

 _"Shooby doo bop, he says he wants his daughter back. Shooby doo bop, he'll keep comin' until she cracks. Shooby doo bop, and everyone else, Phantom Lord is comin' for you. Shooby doo bop, don't think that this is through. Shooby doo bop, shooby doo bop, shooby dooby doo, shalalala."_

The video ends there. No one speaks for a long moment, everyone processing what they just heard. Natsu isn't sure if he wants to know, but whoever this is not only admitted that they hacked the channel, but also dropped a name along with it. Phantom Lord. The name doesn't ring any bells to Natsu, and neither does the other dropped name, this 'Jude' person.

Freed brings up Google on his phone. "Phantom Lord sounds familiar. Sort of." He types the name in. "Ah, right."

"What?" Laxus asks, leaning over Freed's shoulder.

"They're a hacking group," Freed says, scrolling through the search results. "I don't know who their ringleader is, but I've heard some shady things about them. Shadier than normal for a group of hackers, anyway. Apparently, people pay them to hack into wherever they want, and it pays good money, but there are rumours that the boss keeps all of the money for himself. There isn't much about it, and a lot of it is probably just exaggerations, but I wouldn't be surprised."

Natsu's hand curls into a fist, and he wishes he could place a face to Mr Shooby Doo Bop so he knows exactly who to punch. He takes a deep breath to calm himself down, knowing he'll end up punching the laptop screen if he doesn't, and he doesn't think Jet or Droy would appreciate that.

"And the other name they mentioned?" Lisanna asks. "Jude, I think they said?"

Mira's eyes become steely, and it doesn't matter how many times Natsu sees this expression, because it unnerves him every time. "We need to wait for the girls to come back."

* * *

It's another fifteen minutes before the girls return. Levy looks frantic, and Lucy stands beside her the whole time just in case she needs something. Erza looks as furious as Natsu feels, and he wonders if they've seen the video yet. He hopes so, because he doesn't want to watch it again. For the sake of his blood pressure.

"Any developments?" Erza asks, tone business-like.

Mira nods and leans over the desk so she can bring the video up again. "There was a video posted about twenty minutes ago. I'll just let you guys listen to it."

The girls crowd around the desk as the video plays again, and rather than paying attention to the abysmal voice breaking the speakers, Natsu decides to pay attention to their reactions instead. He quickly finds that doing so doesn't make him feel any better, especially when he sees Levy's widening eyes and Erza's gritted teeth. Nothing really stands out until the name _'Jude'_ is mentioned and Natsu hears a soft gasp. By the girls' body language, he deduces that it was Lucy, and he frowns. Does she have some sort of connection to this 'Jude' person?

When the video is done, Freed says, "I looked up Phantom Lord. They're a group of hackers who have a client base who pay them to hack into things. I assume this Jude person is their client."

Erza turns to Lucy, who appears to be on the verge of tears. The realisation makes Natsu's stomach do flips. He's never associated Lucy with tears before, just bright smiles and funny text messages, so he doesn't know how to react initially. Mira does, though, and she's quickly standing with her arm around Lucy's shoulders.

"Don't worry, Lucy," she says in a soft voice.

"Care to fill us in?" Laxus says with a frown, planting himself on one of the nearby chairs.

Mira and Erza both look at Lucy, asking questions with their eyes that Natsu can't quite decipher, but Lucy quickly shakes her head and wipes her oncoming tears. "This is - it's my fault."

"What, no it isn't," Lisanna says, and everyone either nods or hums in agreement.

"Thank you, but it is," Lucy says, her smile sad. Natsu doesn't like it. "They said that Jude wants his daughter back, right? They probably mean Jude Heartfilia."

Gray scowls. "Heartfilia? You related to this guy?" He freezes once everything she said catches up with him, and under different circumstances, Natsu would have laughed. "Wait, you're his daughter? Why did he do this just to talk to you?"

Lucy seems hesitant to answer, and her gaze lingers on the floor as she does. "He can't because I cut off all ties with him. I - I ran away from home a little while before I started my channel. He never tried to contact me _once_ since I left, and the first thing he does to try and get in contact with me is _this_?" Her voice is taking on more anger now, and Natsu can relate. "So it _is_ my fault. I'll have to go back."

Protests rise up from all directions, but it's Makarov who manages to silence everyone with one hand. " _Enough_. This isn't your decision to make." He looks at Lucy. "And it isn't mine either, but if I may impart some words of advice; don't go. Not yet, anyway. Wait for a moment, let us all see what we can do about the situation before you go. We can't force you, but this clearly brings back some bad memories, and you don't deserve to go through that."

"I can't ask you to do all that for me," Lucy says, and she looks like she's going to cry again. "This is my problem, I should be the one dealing with it."

"Don't be ridiculous," Cana says. "You're one of us. When _one_ of us has a problem, _all_ of us has a problem."

Bickslow laughs, a tension-cutting sound at a time like this. "Exactly! We're not gonna ditch you just 'cause of your old man."

There are more words of agreement, and soon everyone is shouting so loudly that Lucy becomes overwhelmed, bursting into tears. "Thank you, everyone."

The crowd parts after that, Levy, Jet, and Droy heading off to do some damage control while Freed and Warren look for ways to counter Phantom Lord if they strike again. Natsu doesn't move until he's able to step in beside Lucy and lean his arm on her shoulder. She gives him a watery smile, but it's not a sad smile, so it's something. An improvement is all he can ask of her right now.

"Wanna get something to eat?" he asks.

To his surprise (and delight), she laughs. "No, maybe a little later. Right now, I just want to sit somewhere quiet. I can feel a headache coming on."

Natsu gently takes her wrist. "Come with me, I know just the place."

He leads her to one of the back rooms, a storage place he doesn't visit often, but there is a couch there, and it's far enough away from the main rooms that she won't be bothered by any noise. It's a bit dusty with all the various unused objects scattered around the place, but he loves it. There's something homely and comforting about it.

Lucy moves to the couch by herself and he lingers by the doorway. "I can leave if you want."

He doesn't _want_ to leave, but he will if she wants him to. Everyone has their own ways of coping when they're upset, and Natsu can't say he knows what Lucy's are, but he knows his. He hates being left alone to his thoughts. He needs a distraction, something to keep his mind off of whatever is making him upset until it goes away completely. Easier said than done, but he likes to think of himself as a pro at this point, and having so many friends definitely helps with that.

"You don't have to," Lucy says. "I don't really want to be alone."

Natsu grins and makes himself at home beside her. He's squished between her and a cardboard box full of old recording equipment, but he's not complaining. It's cosy. "Then you won't have to be." There are a few moments spent in silence, and he fiddles with the hem of his shirt before speaking up. "Do you wanna talk about it? It's fine if not, and I'm not that great with feelings and junk."

Lucy laughs. "'Feelings and junk'? You sound like a teenage romcom from the 80s." The laughter dies down and so does her smile, just a little. "I wouldn't really know where to begin. My father hasn't _always_ been this way."

Natsu searches for the right question to ask. "So, uh, when did he start acting this way?" Though he doesn't quite know what _'this way'_ is.

"After my mother died."

Well, that isn't the answer he anticipated. He stiffens, only because he wasn't expecting it, but once the initial shock dies down, he finds himself empathising. He's been in her position before. Sort of, anyway. He knows what it's like to have a parent pass away. He wonders if Lucy has ever talked about it, if she had the support system he did. The same one he still has.

"So, what? He just flipped the switch?"

Lucy leans back, staring at the ceiling. "Pretty much, yeah. He became more obsessed with his work - he's a wealthy businessman - which meant he didn't have any time for me. Our relationship's been strained since then, to put it simply. As I got older, he started deciding things about my life without telling me, even after I became an adult, so I just left. I'd tried reasoning with him so many times that I didn't see any other option. I changed my phone number, got a job, moved into a new place. And he didn't try and contact me for over a year. He only calls for me unless he wants something, so I guess he wants something. And he's trying to destroy everything around me so I can come crawling back to him, because that's what he does."

She says it so casually that they may as well be talking about the weather, but Natsu feels a surge of anger towards this man he's never met. "We won't let him do that, okay?"

"Nothing's ever stopped him before," Lucy says, closing her eyes, but she opens them again when he rests a hand on her knee.

"We will stop him, okay?" Natsu looks right into Lucy's eyes as he says it, trying to make her understand.

Her eyes water, but she smiles. "Thank you, Natsu."

* * *

The rest of the day progresses normally after that. Lucy and Levy continue to write the script for the short film and Laxus lives in his corner of the office for the rest of the afternoon, making plans. Freed, Jet, and Droy are the only ones actively working on the hacking situation, and they don't rise from their isolated corner of the room for a few hours. Natsu doesn't bother them after the first time they shooed him away. He knows he would be the same if it was his channel that was hacked, so he decides to play cards with Gray while he waits for news.

"We found something," Freed says, standing up. Then he frowns at Jet and Droy's laptop. "I think."

That's still enough for everyone in the room. They head over and stand behind the boys' seats. The screen shows another YouTube channel, one that Natsu doesn't recognise, and while there are a few videos, they don't seem to have too many views. Though most channels pale in comparison to Fairy Tail, anyway. Not that he's boasting or anything. Of course not.

"We think the owner of this channel is part of Phantom Lord," Jet says.

Natsu leans forward and squints so he can read the channel name. ' _DripDripDrop'_.

"Is this the person that sung that awful as fuck song?" Gray asks, arms crossed.

Freed shakes his head. "No, the owner of this channel is female, but by the looks of it, she has a roommate. His voice is very similar to the one we heard, and we know he has a guitar. And when this girl talks about 'work', she doesn't look all that happy about it, but that might not mean anything."

"Play it," Laxus says, though he doesn't specify what. There are quite a few videos, and Freed selects the most recent one called 'How to Make a Stuffed Bear from Household Items!'

"She's a DIY YouTuber, it looks like," Freed says, leaning back in his seat so the others can see the screen better.

The young woman that appears is pale with wavy blue hair. She's smiling at the camera, apparently very excited about her video, and Natsu knows how that feels, even if she's a member of Phantom Lord. That feeling is universal, after all. Everyone should feel it at some point during their lives.

 _"Hello, viewers! It's Juvia, back again with another project for you! This is one close and dear to my heart, one of the first projects I did when I was little, and it's really easy, too!"_

Before she can get into it, however, the room's door opens and a buff figure steps through. Their face is cut off due to the camera angle, but whoever it is definitely has a guitar case in one hand. The woman, Juvia, turns around in her chair with a bright smile.

 _"Gajeel, say 'hi' to our viewers!"_

 _"What viewers?"_ comes the gruff voice that can only belong to the buff person. They walk out of shot and Juvia turns around again, this time pouting.

 _"Juvia has viewers! And they like you, too! They think you're funny!"_

 _"I don't_ mean _to be funny. This is just my normal personality, now fuck off."_

Juvia just huffs and looks straight into her camera. "Gajeel says 'Hi'!"

 _"I do not! Make sure to keep it down, I have songs to write."_

Juvia giggles, covering her mouth with dainty little hands. _"Ah, Mr Shooby Doo Bop is at it again!"_

 _"Don't call me that!"_

Freed pauses the video. "So that was _that_ , and if we skip ahead a little bit, she mentions work."

He skips ahead to about four minutes later. Juvia's face has lost its original happy glow, and her hands are now fidgeting with a small white doll she has attached to her lapel. When Freed presses play again, she's silent for a few moments, like she's thinking too hard about something.

 _"This is something else Juvia made when she was very little. It's a teru teru bozu, and it's supposed to bring good weather. It's been her companion for as long as she can remember, and he doesn't have a name, but she always brings him with her when she and Gajeel -"_ There is a pause. A forced smile. _"When Gajeel and Juvia go to work."_ She coughs, and it's almost like she's back to normal.

"It's not much to go off of," Freed says, pausing the video yet again, "but it's all we have. It took us forever just to find this. Phantom Lord don't care about spreading their name whenever they hack, but they keep their lips sealed otherwise."

Laxus breathes out through his nose. "Alright, so what can we do about this? Is there any way to stop them?"

"I don't know yet," Freed admits with a sigh. "We'll just have to increase our security measure for now, so we'll see how that goes."

Freed starts going over his Phantom Lord Prevention Plan™, but Natsu isn't paying attention. His focus is entirely on Lucy, whose nails have to be digging into her skin from how tight her hands are, her teeth chewing on her lip like there's no tomorrow. He doubts he can say much to comfort her now. Instead, he just lets his actions speak for him, flicking her shoulder and sending her a grin.

The initial look she gives him is one of surprise, but the next one is full of determination, like her eyes are on fire. He can't help but stare.

"You were right," Lucy says to him. "My dad _can_ be stopped."

He gives her an encouraging grin and a one-armed hug.

* * *

The following day rolls around and Natsu is confident as he strolls through the door, Happy draped over his shoulders. He has a fitting for his film costume, then it's time to film with the gaming channel, then he gets to finish the day with Fairy Family Friday and a nice dinner. Whatever they're playing tonight, he hopes they win so he can choose what they eat. It's the best part of the night. It's food.

But a wrench is thrown in his plans when Levy walks in with a forlorn expression and asks for everyone's attention. She's holding her phone, scowling at it like it's wronged her in some way, and Droy asks her what's wrong.

"It's Lucy," she says. "I was talking to her last night and she told me that she's going home today to talk to her father. She wanted me to tell you all in her place. And she says sorry."

Natsu almost drops Happy as an ice cold feelings spreads through him, overtaking his every limb until he involuntarily shivers. Then he says the only words he can think of under the current circumstances.

"What the hell?!"

* * *

 _tragic backstory ahoy! but it's not all that different from canon so is it really a surprise?_


	7. Chapter 7

Lucy checks the time on her phone. Levy should be arriving at the studio any second now, and she's sure she'll know when she does. Her phone is still on in case of emergencies, but it also means that she'll receive a barrage of texts and calls the minute Levy delivers her message. That's one thing she's not looking forward to. The other is her destination, the place she's heading via this packed train. A place she hasn't been in over a year.

Before she can think too hard about it, her phone lights up and she resigns herself to how the rest of her day is going to go. She has to put her phone on silent as to not bother the rest of the passengers. Her eyes follow the notifications as they come in at the speed of light, one after the other.

 _Erza: Lucy, do you need us to meet you there?_

 _Mira: you could've just told us~!_

 _Bickslow: laxus told me to tell u that u need to get back here to write the script._

 _Levy: Sorry, I tried to stop them._

 _Cana: LUCY GET BACK HERE_

 _Gray: [video sent] you broke the entire office they're running around like headless chickens_

 _Natsu: call me_

Lucy smiles despite herself, but doesn't answer any of the texts. She knows if she does, she'll want to cave and turn back around, but this is something she needs to do. It's not just for her sake, but for everyone else's. This was something she could tolerate when she was the only one being affected, but this? This hurts all of them.

She doesn't check her phone for the rest of the ride, but she can feel it vibrating in her pocket, and she's sure that someone even calls her a few times. She still doesn't turn her phone settings back to normal when she arrives at her station, knowing she needs to focus more than ever, even though she knows the route off by heart. The Heartfilia mansion isn't exactly easy to miss.

It would be more convenient to take a taxi, but Lucy wants to collect her thoughts, so she opts to walk instead. It's a good day for it and the fresh air works wonders on her mind. It doesn't quite help her nerves, though.

The Heartfilia mansion is a large, white building with golden trimmings, right across the road from a gorgeous park. It was Lucy's favourite view when she was younger. The park is in plain sight of her old room and she remembers wanting to take her father out, perhaps have him push her on the swings like he used to when her mother was alive, but nice family outings on sunny afternoons died alongside Layla Heartfilia. The thought combined with the nostalgia makes her want to cry, but she convinces herself to be strong. She's isn't about to cry in front of her father this time.

She presses her hand to the security pad connected to the gate. One fear she had before leaving was whether security would still register her as a member of the household, but it seems such worries were in vain. The gates open without any problems.

Keeping her head high, she heads straight for the front door. She sees the gardeners watching her out of the corner of her eye, and she only stops to give them a brief wave before pressing forward, pretending not to see their excited looks. She isn't here to stay, and no one can convince her otherwise. Not even Spetto or Bero, who she's definitely the closest to out of all the house's servants.

Before stepping inside, she turns her phone off completely, but not before seeing her notifications.

 _Missed call from Mirajane Strauss._

 _Missed call from Natsu Dragneel._

 _Missed call from Lisanna Strauss._

 _Missed call from Natsu Dragneel._

 _Missed call from Natsu Dragneel._

With one last sigh, she tucks her phone into her pocket and heads inside.

The mansion is the same as she remembers with its velvet carpet and classy wallpaper. There are family portraits lining the walls and Lucy remembers that they were put there because the foyer is the place her father visits the least. She knows that seeing photographs of her mother makes him upset, and she understands, but she can't agree with him pushing everyone else away. It's not fair on either of them.

"Miss Lucy!"

Lucy greets Spetto with a smile as the tiny woman rushes down the stairs to give her a hug in lieu of the usual formal curtsy. "Hey, Spetto, long time no see."

Spetto lets go, looking up at Lucy with bright eyes. "Are you here to stay?"

Lucy's smile wavers, but she can't lie. Not to Spetto, and not to any of the other servants. She can't get their hopes up. "I'm afraid not. I'm here to talk to father, then I'm going back home."

"I understand," Spetto says with a smile, albeit a sad one. "He's in his study."

"Where else would he be?" Lucy mutters under her breath before thanking Spetto and heading upstairs. She knows the path to her father's study like the back of her hand, and she doesn't think she could forget it even if she tried. He's in there more than he's in his own bedroom.

She arrives at the study's double doors far too quickly, and she swallows thickly before raising her hand and knocking on the door. For a moment, she hopes that her father won't hear her, that she can still turn around and run the other way before he even knows she's here. Her hopes are quickly dashed.

"Come in."

Opening the door, she crosses the threshold and makes her way to her father's desk. He's standing rather than sitting, and that's how she knows this is serious. Her stomach drops. She can't tell how angry he is just by his facial expression alone, because Jude Heartfilia never shows emotions these days, but she knows he can't be happy about her recent actions.

"Hello, father," she says, keeping her voice steady.

He nods in acknowledgement. "Lucy. You've returned. Welcome home."

When it's clear that he isn't about to say anything else, she takes a deep breath and says what she's wanted to for a while now. "I'm sorry."

If this surprises her father, he doesn't show it. He just nods again (oh, how she _hates_ those damn nods of his) and turns around so he's facing the large window that overlooks the entrance. "Very well. I hope you realise the consequences of your actions. The only reason I went after Fairy Tail was your affiliation with them. Innocent people get hurt when you do the wrong thing, Lucy, I hope you know that."

His words may have influenced Lucy when she was a child, but now she has to hold back her anger. For now. All she wants is confirmation that he hired Phantom Lord, then she'll say what she really thinks. She convinces herself that she can hold out for that long.

"You were the one who set up the deletion of Levy, Jet, and Droy's videos, then?" she asks, holding back the bite in her tone.

"Is that who they were?" Jude's nonchalant attitude makes Lucy's blood boil. "I didn't really care. All I asked was for Phantom Lord to start hacking into the channels bit by bit until you returned."

This is it. This is the confirmation she wanted. Yet it doesn't feel satisfying, not yet.

"Now that you've returned, it's time to finalise the plans for this YouTube channel of yours," Jude continues, oblivious to his daughter's anger. "At first, I despised the whole idea, you just broadcasting your life on the internet, but people actually like your content. You remember Sawarr Junelle, yes? An associate of mine, you've met him on several occasions. He took an interest in your channel and wants to make it part of his company. It's for the sake of the family, you understand. I have the contract right here."

As he fishes through his desk drawer, things click into place for Lucy. He didn't do this simply because he wants her back, but because he can get something out of her, and she curses herself for not realising it sooner. She feels like she's going to be sick as her father slides several sheets of paper and a pen her way.

"Here's the contract. Just sign on the dotted line and I'll handle the rest."

Lucy can't hold it in anymore. She raises her head to meet her father's eyes, glaring at him with as much ferocity as possible.

"You misunderstand me. I'm not coming back, nor am I leaving Fairy Tail."

Her father's eyes widen and she takes his silence as an opportunity to continue. "I said I'm sorry, but I'm not sorry for leaving. I'm sorry for _how_ I left. I should have come to you and told you just what I think, so I'm here to fix that mistake. You are not taking my channel, you are not about to do anything else to Fairy Tail, and you are not about to decide anything else for me."

She grabs the contract with such a tight grip that she crinkles the paper. With one simultaneous pull and push, she rips it in half, then again, and again until all that's left are confetti-sized pieces that she throws into the air. They land all over her father's desk, and for once, she doesn't apologise.

"I came here to say a proper goodbye, not for you to dictate the rest of my life. I'm finally happy, the happiest I've been in _years_ , and you're not about to ruin that," she says, growing bolder with every word. "Even if you _do_ continue coming for Fairy Tail, we're about to fight back with everything in us, because you're not my father anymore, but our _enemy_. Nothing you do will ever be able to bring me back to you."

She spins on her heel and heads towards the door, ignoring her father's spluttering behind her. Yanking the door open, she pauses briefly, shifting so she can only just see him.

"Goodbye, father."

The door closes behind her with a soft _click_.

* * *

Lucy doesn't leave right away, wanting to say proper goodbyes to Spetto and the others who have looked after her all these years, and it takes half an hour before they let her leave with promises to stay in contact. In turn, they promise to watch her videos and support both her and Fairy Tail. It warms her heart to know they care about her, even if she isn't living in the Heartfilia Mansion anymore.

She's approaching the gate when she realises there are people standing outside. It's Erza's bright hair that she spots first, then Natsu's, and it's definitely hard to miss a shirtless Gray when he's standing right in front of her old house. She picks up her pace until she's full-on running, practically slamming her hand against the security pad to open the gate.

"What are you guys doing there?" she calls out to them.

They all spin around at the sound of her voice, but they wait until she's on the other side of the gate to ambush her. She notices that Natsu's even brought Happy with him, and she can't help but laugh as all four of them crowd around her.

"Lucy, there you are!"

"I can't believe you didn't tell us!"

"Did you know you can find this place with a simple Google search? The internet is amazing."

Lucy holds her hands up, a gesture asking them both to stop and give her some space. They do. "Guys, it's okay, relax. I just needed to do this. For my own sake if no one else's. And I didn't tell you guys because I knew you'd try and stop me - and don't even try to say you wouldn't."

Natsu, who looked as though he wanted to protest, quickly closes his mouth. Lucy goes on to explain everything that transpired while under her father's roof, and she can't help but be amused by their reactions, their eyes widening, their bright smiles as she tells them her resolve. She can't help but feel proud of herself, too. A mere year or two ago, she never would have been able to stand up to her father like that. Now she's free to speak her mind.

As they head down the pathway, Lucy catches sight of her father staring at her and the others via his study's grand window. He doesn't seem angry, but pensive, and she decides that it's best not to think of him as she disappears round the corner.

"I brought Happy to the office today 'cause I thought he might be able to cheer you up," Natsu is saying as they start down the side-street. Happy is now cuddled against Lucy's shoulder, right in the crook of her neck, his soft fur reminding her just how ticklish she can be. "And then Levy told us you were here and I couldn't just leave him in the office - I don't trust him to be there on his own - so I brought him."

"He smuggled him on the train and everything," Gray says, turning his head so he can see both of them. He and Erza are the ones leading them back to the train station.

Natsu huffs through his nose. "I've done it before and I'm about to do it again. Besides, you love Happy just as much as I do. Well, not as much, but close enough."

"He's more tolerable than his owner, that's for sure."

"Why, you -" Natsu starts, but Erza stops him as they reach the next corner. Everyone looks at her in confusion.

She presses a finger to her lips. "I think something's happening around the corner. Be quiet, don't disturb them."

And yet all four of them (five, if Happy is included) peer around the brick wall to see the next street. Lucy can hear yelling coming from a few metres away, and she squints her eyes as she attempts to catch a glimpse of the people involved. There are two, by the looks of it, a man and a woman, and neither look happy. The man is angry, the woman apologetic and nervous.

"You promised me you would have the money _today_ , what do you mean your big job just got called off?" the man yells, towering over the woman.

"I-It happened just now, the text was a minute ago!" The woman fumbles with something, most likely her phone, but the man isn't done yet.

" _Dammit_ , Juvia, aren't you good for _anything_?!"

The woman's head shoots up, and if the name hadn't alerted Lucy to who she is, then the sight of her panicked face would have. Juvia's blue curls are messier than they appear in her videos and she's clutching her phone so tightly that Lucy is sure her nails are tearing into them. She seemed so composed in her video, if not a little sad, and so seeing her in such a state is a little jarring.

"That's the Phantom Lord girl, right?" Natsu says, and there's an underlying tone of aggression that makes Lucy reach out and gently take his wrist in her hand.

Erza's eyes are narrowed, but they're directed at the man, not Juvia. "Wait. Now isn't the time for that. She's in trouble, and maybe she'll know how to get Levy, Jet, and Droy's videos back."

Juvia is close to tears now, phone clutched to her chest like some sort of lifeline. "Juvia didn't - _isn't_ \- most of it she has to pay back to our boss, anyway -"

"You _promised_ me, Juvia!" the man yells, apparently not caring about any potential witnesses. The street is deserted as far as he knows. "You can't keep doing this, you know. More people other than yourself are going to get hurt if you don't pull through."

It's Lucy's turn to be angry. She knows this tactic. Her father _invented_ this tactic and proved as much a mere hour or so ago. Phantom Lord be damned, Lucy isn't about to let this girl be a victim of yet another emotional abuser. She pries Happy off of her shoulders, ready to hand him over to Natsu and storm over when it happens.

In a fit of anger, the man pushes Juvia. Right into the middle of the street.

Juvia is stunned, too stunned to see the oncoming car as it turns the corner and heads straight towards her. Lucy lets out a shout, but before she's even finished, Gray is running over with his hands outstretched, pushing the man to the side as he pulls Juvia to him, to safety, right as the car rushes past. It's almost as though the driver doesn't care, and Natsu sends a rude gesture their way as they drive past.

"That was close," Erza mutters, the tension in her shoulders falling.

The man is shouting expletives at Gray, who just kicks him where he _deserves_ to be struck down, leaving him in a heap on the ground. Juvia can't stop staring at Gray with wide eyes, but she doesn't seem nervous anymore. She's more astonished than anything. Lucy would hazard a guess and say starstruck, even.

"You saved me," she says bluntly, cheeks tinged pink. "Thank you, Gray."

Gray looks away awkwardly. "It was nothing." He pauses. "Wait, how do you know my name?"

Juvia looks embarrassed now, stepping out of Gray's loose grip and keeping her eyes trained on the pavement below. "I, um, Juvia is a big fan."

Before Gray can respond, Erza approaches with the smallest of smiles. "Juvia, is it? If you're a fan, you'll know who we are and why we want to ask you a few questions, yes?"

* * *

"That man, Bora, is - _was_ \- Juvia's boyfriend," Juvia says once they're all sitting in a nearby coffee shop with drinks in front of them. She hasn't touched hers yet. "He was probably the first person to be nice to her outside of Phantom Lord, and as much as she loves most of the members, it's nice to have someone else to talk to. Or at least it was at first. He made sure not to show his true colours until Juvia was emotionally invested."

"So, he wanted your money from the very beginning?" Erza asks, taking a forkful of her strawberry cake.

Juvia purses her lips. "Juvia suspects so. He wasn't like that at first, but she sees no other reason for him to stick around for so long."

"They never do," Gray says under his breath, but by the way Juvia's eyes flicker to him, she hears him. "Did you tell anyone about this?"

She shakes her head. "Juvia has considered telling Gajeel many times, but it has - it has never seemed like a good idea. Gajeel is Juvia's best friend and she cares for him dearly, but he has a tendency to make things _complicated_ when he gets emotional. And Juvia does not trust anyone else in Phantom Lord as much."

"Well, I think you should tell him," Lucy says. "Telling someone else helps minimise the risk of it happening again, at least in my experience. The people around you give you the strength to stand up for yourself, and I'm sure they'll do it for you if you can't seem to manage it yet."

Juvia's smile is brief, but it's there. "Thank you. Juvia will make sure to tell him, though she will have to convince him not to do anything _rash_. He can be a bit protective of Juvia."

"Yes, we have someone like that," Erza says, eyeing Natsu, who crosses his arms defensively. "But even if you can't talk to him, I'll give you my number and you can call me if - Bora, was it? If he contacts you again. But I also have a few other questions. About Phantom Lord specifically."

Juvia nods slowly. "Juvia thought you might. She isn't sure how much she can answer, but she'll try her best."

"That's fine, just answer what you can," Erza says, setting her now empty plate on the table in front of them. "First off, the basics. What is Phantom Lord?"

"It's a hacking group, which you already know," Juvia starts, glaring at the table like it's offended her in some way, but there's a hint of anxiety that Lucy can pinpoint in her expression. "Our boss, Mister Jose, takes in foster children like Juvia and Gajeel and looks after them in exchange for them working for them. People like Juvia and Gajeel don't get much money, just enough to live decently, but not enough where we are able to save up enough and leave. The majority of the money goes to Mister Jose. He is a professional at being a fraud, it's how he was able to take in so many children. He receives requests from clients and gives them to us. Juvia and the others _have_ to complete it."

Lucy sets down her milkshake, making sure not to hit Happy in the process. She's beginning to lose her appetite. "That's _horrible_. And you have nowhere else to go?"

"No." Juvia's hands make creases in her skirt, and it takes Lucy a few moments to realise they're shaking. "Mister Jose makes sure of that. But because of our inability to leave, we have caused you trouble. Juvia's apologies."

"Oi, oi, it's not your fault," Gray says, leaning back in his seat. "You were forced to do that stuff. And I'm sure if we try, we can find somewhere better for you."

Erza has a knowing look on her face, one that Lucy has learned to recognise by now. It's not as obvious as Mira's or Lisanna's, and she isn't as nervous when she sees this one, either. "I think I might have a place. But I'll have to discuss it with the others first."

Natsu blinks. "Wait, you're not serious."

Erza's expression barely changes, but there is something, a sort of determination. "Oh, I'm _completely_ serious." She turns back to Juvia. "How would you like to join us? You can even bring Gajeel if you want."

Natsu looks as though he wants to argue, and Lucy can't help but agree with him, just a little, but when she sees the way Juvia's face lights up, all counterarguments die on the tip of her tongue.

"Juvia would love to!"

* * *

 _hello hello! this update was a little slower than my usual ones, i've been busy and will still be busy for the next week and a half, so please bare with me!_


	8. Chapter 8

"You _what_?!"

Natsu sympathises with Jet's plight. He doesn't particularly want Gajeel (or Juvia, he supposes, but mostly Gajeel) to join the team, but Erza seems adamant. It doesn't help that she has Makarov on her side, and the smaller man stands next to her with his arms folded, a stern look on his face. Many of the other channel members seem just as uneasy. Some seem unaffected, like Mira, who is as accepting as always. Jet and Droy are livid, and Levy is frowning at the carpet below.

"Did you even consider that maybe this chick is lying to you?" Laxus asks. He appears calm, but Natsu knows better than to trust the gleam in his eyes.

"I don't think so. The boyfriend story holds up, at least," Gray says. He lost his shirt the moment they returned to the studio and now sits half-naked on his desk. "We all saw it happen. The guy really didn't give a shit if she was run over by that car."

"If we were to have a problem, I doubt Juvia would be the cause of it," Erza says, and if this were anyone else, Natsu would quip that _'Oh, so_ now _you're admitting that there may, in fact, be a problem'_ , but he doesn't because Erza is _terrifying_. "I trust Juvia to keep Gajeel in line, but in the chance she is unable to, we'll deal with him then. One man can only do so much about the many of us."

When Jet and Droy still look ready to fight the decision, Makarov takes things upon himself. "I'm not asking you to trust him immediately, but if what Juvia says is true, the two of them are being taken advantage of and we have the opportunity to help them. I'm not about to take that away from them without even giving them a chance. Understood?"

Silence engulfs the room and Natsu shifts uncomfortably. He's always hated silence. In the end, it's Levy who breaks the silence.

"If the master thinks it's what's best, then - then I think they should join us."

Natsu is shocked, but not more so than Jet and Droy, who wear matching wide-eyed expressions. Levy doesn't look at either of them. Instead, she's looking at Makarov. She knows he won't judge her, most likely. "They might have hacked into our channel, but if they didn't have a choice, we should give them one. Part of Fairy Tail's goal is to give people opportunities, right? We might be the only people who can give them an out."

Jet and Droy are disgruntled, but appear more placated than before. If anyone can get them to change their minds, it would be Levy, and Natsu has faith that they'll give Gajeel a decent shot before kicking him out to the curb. Natsu supposes that he can try his best if Levy and the boys can. He won't like it, but he'll try.

"Fantastic!" Makarov is wearing a smile now. "They'll start on Monday. Erza, Mira, and myself will be contacting them. Carry on like normal until then."

The meeting dismissed, Natsu immediately heads to where Lucy is sitting. Happy has taken residence on her lap and she's stroking his fur with one hand while the other holds her pen. She seems to be working on the short film's notes despite the emotional morning she's had. At first, he thinks it's as though she never went at all, but when she turns around and smiles at him, he knows better. She's more relaxed than she was. Her smile is bigger, more genuine, like a burden has been lifted off of her shoulders. It probably has.

"Hey," he says, wheeling the nearest seat beside hers. "How's it goin'? You sure you're alright?"

Lucy doesn't look up from her notes, finishing a bullet point as she smiles. "I'm sure. I feel better than alright, actually. I'd be alright if we just forgot it ever happened, it's all over now. And even if I _was_ upset, I have Happy here with me, don't I?" The last two words are directed at Happy, who gives a short meow of agreement.

Natsu is silent for a few seconds, leaning his elbow on her desk. "So, you're okay with all this? I mean, Levy, Jet, and Droy were Gajeel's main victims, but he and Juvia were hired by your _father_ , y'know?"

"I'm fine, Natsu, I promise," Lucy says, patting his elbow. "And Juvia turned out to be a really nice person, so who's to say that Gajeel won't be the same?"

Natsu thinks that Lucy is far more positive than he is, and he's reminded of the hacker's ridiculous song. It was only short, but he doesn't think anything good will come from a person like that. "If you say so."

* * *

It turns out that Gajeel definitely _isn't_ the same.

Monday rolls around and he and Juvia are speaking to Makarov and Erza by the entrance. Juvia is looking around excitedly, taking in everything there is to see, while Gajeel stands with his arms crossed and his shoulders slumped forward. He clearly doesn't want to be here, and Natsu is tempted to go up to him and tell him to scat. He isn't the only one, either. Laxus is glaring from across the room and Levy is warning Jet and Droy not to do anything they might regret. Natsu doubts they'll be able to, though, since Gajeel is large and muscular. He could probably take both of them out in one sweep.

Once everyone's arrived in the office, Makarov heads to the place in the room he usually makes his announcements from, the two newcomers at his heels. The early morning chatter dies down and everyone turns, waiting expectantly. Erza takes advantage of the silence to send everyone a quick warning look right before Makarov starts.

"Alright, listen up, ya brats! These are the new brats, Juvia and Gajeel." Juvia waves when her name is spoken, but Gajeel just glares at the floor. "You know the deal and why they're here, so all of you better be nice." Makarov points to his eyes, then at everyone else in the room. "I'm watching you."

And with that, he disappears out the door, most likely to go to work, leaving Juvia and Gajeel in their care. Natsu expects it to be awkward at first, but Mira is up and ready to roll. She quickly pulls Juvia aside and starts talking to her, Lisanna joining the conversation a moment later, and Natsu assumed they're talking about DIY projects they can do for the channel. He quickly loses interest once Jet and Droy approach Gajeel, Levy a few paces behind.

"Gajeel, right?" Jet starts, as though he doesn't know already. "You owe us."

Gajeel is expressionless even when he opens his mouth and says, "Who are you?"

This causes Jet and Droy to shout in indignation, Levy quickly gesturing this way and that to try and calm them down. It doesn't work, if Droy's shout of, "We're the people whose videos you took down, you ass!"

"Oh." Gajeel actually looks at them properly, as if seeing them for the first time. "I didn't know. Didn't really check whose videos I was takin' down before I did it. I just did my job."

"Alright, then get them back," Jet says. He's moving his feet across the carpet, a sign that he's either nervous or frustrated. Probably both, in this case.

Gajeel gestures to the computer, as if that would help him any. "Already did this morning."

The other three just stare at him for a moment before Levy fishes her phone out of her pocket and starts tapping around. Natsu assumes she's checking their channel, and he's proven right when she looks back up with a stunned expression and a, "He actually did."

"'Course I did, Shrimp, I got no reason to keep 'em down, do I?" Gajeel says, ignoring Levy's protests at the nickname. "Besides, Juvia would've had a fit if I didn't."

Jet and Droy share a look - Levy is still staring at Gajeel like she doesn't quite understand that he can do something _decent_ \- before shifting uncomfortably. They definitely weren't expecting this, and neither was Natsu. He even brings up the webpage on his own phone just so he can confirm it for himself. It's true.

"Well, alright, but we're not saying thanks, since you're the one who took them down in the first place," Jet says, Droy nodding as he speaks.

Gajeel shrugs. "Fine by me."

Before either party can say anything else, Laxus saunters over with a mop and bucket, shoving them in Gajeel's face as soon as he's close enough. "Alright, cadet, time for the toilet to be cleaned. Down the hall, second door on the left."

If Natsu didn't know any better, he could have sworn Gajeel growls. "Like hell I'm gonna scrub your fuckin' _shit_."

Laxus just waves the mop around. "Of course you are. It's the job of all newbies."

Natsu knows that definitely isn't the case, but he isn't about to saunter in there and save Gajeel. This is fantastic. No one else speaks up, either, at least not for a few seconds. Then Levy takes pity on him and steps between him and the mop, though only the bottom touches her. The perks of being short.

"Laxus, come on, there has to be other things that Gajeel can do," she says, but nothing seems to get through.

"Do you wanna be stuck with toilet duty, too?" he says, and while Natsu doesn't think he really means it, Gajeel interrupts by grabbing the mop.

"Fine, fine, whatever," he mumbles, grabbing the bucket so forcefully that some of it spills out onto the floor, but he doesn't bother going back to clean it up. He just turns the corner towards the bathroom. Natsu hears the door shut.

Laxus wipes away the few drops of water that stain his hands. "Now that that's done, can I get everyone's attention!" The second half of the sentence is louder than the first, and it gains the attention of everyone in the room. "We'll have a meeting about the short film after the workday is over. Mira, Lisanna, fill Juvia in. Or get Erza to do it if you have to film something. We need to figure out where we're going to shoot and what the costumes are going to look like, I know you've all been working on it over the weekend. That's all I have to say."

As Laxus heads off, Gray clamps his hand over Natsu's shoulder and starts dragging him in the opposite direction. "C'mon, flame brain, it's time to game."

* * *

At the end of the day, Natsu is exhausted. The gaming squad ended up experiencing some technical difficulties. Not that it had mattered anyway, because it was a shooting game, and Alzack and Bisca _always_ win the shooting games. One would think Bisca would have a more difficult time while pregnant, but she's even more ruthless than usual. He usually isn't this tired at the end of the work day, and when he is, he has Happy to look forward to, but this time he doesn't. He's lying on Lucy's lap _again_ , and he wonders if the blue furball even moved since this morning.

"Are you kidnapping my cat?" he teases, dropping into the seat beside her that Freed only just vacated.

Lucy almost jumps out of her seat, and when she moves her hands, he can see why. She's really focused on the short film's script. There are pages of printed lines, but Lucy's swirly handwriting is everywhere, making notes of small adjustments and changes to dialogue. She's in her element.

"Natsu, don't scare me like that!"

He just laughs, reaching out to pat Happy. "I didn't mean to. The day's over, y'know. You can stop working."

Lucy gives him one of her exasperated looks. He's getting used to them now. "I'm not stopping until I'm satisfied. This script needs to be perfect, and I'm not the only one writing it. This is just the part I'm in charge of."

Natsu traces the edge of the paper. "What do you mean?"

"Freed's in charge of the beginning, I'm in charge of the middle with the battles and all, and Levy's in charge of the end. Of course, we have to look over each other's work because when we write, we all have different writing voices and we need to make sure everything runs smoothly in terms of setting and especially character development -" She stops rambling and, while he doesn't understand exactly what she means, he wishes she wouldn't. He doesn't know the first thing about writing, but she's passionate and loves talking about it. That's enough for him.

"Is the dragon king as badass as ever?" Natsu asks with a grin.

Lucy rolls her eyes. "Yes, Natsu, he's probably the most badass character there is. Aside from the celestial princess, of course."

"You're biased!"

"So are you!"

Natsu scoffs, though his smile lessens its effect. "How is a princess more badass than a dragon that controls _fire_?"

Lucy folds her arms on the desk and leans closer, clearly ready to take the challenge. "The celestial princess can not only control the stars, but she _is_ the stars. She could bend an entire solar system to her will, she can make constellations. And she's not just badass in terms of physical ability, either. She has a strong sense of resolve, and she's always determined to do something when she puts her mind to it. She knows there are people out there stronger than her, but she's not about to give up because of that."

For a moment, Natsu just _stares_. He was expecting a sentence or two, not an essay-level response, but he isn't complaining. He knows when he's been defeated (though the other gamers would say otherwise, but what do they know?). He raises his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright, she's badass."

Lucy leans back with a satisfied smirk. "Told ya."

Natsu is about to call her a sore winner when Laxus claps to gain everyone's attention. His claps sound like _thunder_ sometimes. "Alright, listen up! Today I was thinking of where to go to shoot this damn film, then the old man called. Apparently one of his co-workers has a friend who owns this really fancy resort. He sent me some pictures and the area it's located in has a bunch of landmarks that would be perfect for filming. I'm gonna book us all in for a month starting a week or so from now."

Cana cheers. "A fuckin' holiday! About time!"

"No." Laxus glares, but Cana isn't perturbed. "This is a work trip. We'll do plenty of other stuff for the channel while we're there. It'll all be the same, but with a change of scenery, and a bunch of shooting for this short film to boot, so there'll be more work."

This doesn't seem to deter anyone, though. Everyone starts whispering excitedly, making plans, discussing what to bring. Evergreen is going over how many bathing suits she wants to bring, and Mira and Lisanna are plotting something in the corner, if their cheeky expressions are anything to go by. Juvia is tugging on Gajeel's arm in some sort of futile attempt to get him excited. Erza is reprimanding Cana, telling her she can't bring any alcohol, but Natsu doubts she'll listen.

"I'm definitely bringing Happy," he says to Lucy. "I'm not leaving him for a month. And the holidays are starting, so Wendy can come with us. She'll bring Carla! It'll be a family trip."

Lucy hums, and Natsu takes it as a form of agreement. "I wonder if I can bring Plue."

"Why not!" Natsu says. "The more the merrier! If I'm bringing Happy, then you can bring Plue."

Lucy appears reassured by this, but both of them are distracted by Laxus's voice from across the room.

 _"You're not bringing any of your weird dolls, Bickslow!"_

As Bickslow whines, Lucy laughs lightly. "Well, even if it's technically not a vacation, it's still going to be interesting, right?"

Natsu can't agree more.

* * *

 _hi hello i just got back from a wedding and i'm tired af so i'm gonna chuck this chapter at you all._


	9. Chapter 9

_Natsu: gray keeps complaining that i keep moving his shit to make room for happy's_

 _Natsu: like does he think he's more important than happy?_

 _Natsu: nO_

Lucy giggles as she checks her phone. It sits in one hand while a handful of folded clothes sits in the other. She's packing for their trip right before they're about to go, and while she'd intended to be far more organised, Laxus dropped the bomb that they were leaving four hours earlier than expected, and so she has to rush a little more. Not enough to stop her from checking and sending messages, though. She gently places her clothes inside her suitcase before responding.

 _Lucy: As much as I love Happy, you can't just move Gray's stuff out of the car._

 _Natsu: fUCKIN TRY ME_

 _Natsu: going with all of us in one car is gonna get on my nerves all 5 seats are gonna be taken_

 _Lucy: Five? Aren't there only four of you?_

 _Natsu: happy and carla get a whole seat to themselves this is what happens when wendy keeps spoiling them_

 _Lucy: Well, if you guys get desperate, I could swing by and you can shove some stuff in my car. It's only me and Plue, so I have plenty of room._

 _Natsu: GODDESS LUCY OUR LIFESAVER_

 _Natsu: wait cana says it won't be necessary idk what she's up to but_

 _Natsu: SHE'S PULLING ALL OF GRAY'S CLOTHES OUT OF HIS SUITCASE_

 _Natsu: "you won't need them anyway gray"_

 _Natsu: I MEAN SHE'S NOT WRONG_

With a roll of her eyes, despite the instigator not being around to see it, Lucy zips up her last suitcase (because she has several, naturally) and heads out the door, Plue at her heels. She locks up before heading to her car and sending one last text before she opens her boot and slides the remaining suitcase inside.

 _Lucy: Do you need me to come or not?_

 _Natsu: nah_

 _Natsu: we'll make u late anyway_

 _Lucy: I can't say I'm surprised. I'll see you there!_

And with that, she sets her phone up so its only function for the next few hours is so she can play music. As tempting as it is to check both her private messages and the group chat while she's driving, she would rather not end up in an accident, and so all she does is set up her playlist and ensure that Plue is buckled in before taking off towards their holiday (or _not_ -holiday, as Laxus insists) destination.

* * *

It takes a couple of hours for Lucy to reach the resort, but she decides it's worth the wait the moment she pulls into the car park. The resort is located by the coast, and it shows, what with the gorgeous blue waves that shimmer in the sunlight. She can see a few beach-goers and surfers, but they look like ants from the top of her hill. The resort spans as far as the eye can see and is much taller than she expected, and she has to take a moment to just stand there and take it all in. Even when she was living with her father, surrounded by lavish luxury, it was rare for her to actually go on vacation, so this may as well be completely new to her.

"Lucy! Hey!"

Plue sits close to Lucy's feet as Erza and the Strauss siblings head their way. She vaguely remembers them mentioning that they would be travelling together to save time, money, and space, but she wonders how on earth they could be saving _space_ when Erza looks like she's pulling her whole house behind her. She needs an entire _cart_ for her belongings.

"Uh, hey," Lucy greets, briefly wondering if she didn't pack enough, but the sight of everyone else's sparse luggage puts her at ease. "Anyone else here yet?"

"Laxus and the rest of his group are here," Mira says as Lisanna bends down to pat Plue. "They went inside to confirm our reservations with reception. We're waiting out here so we don't crowd the front desk. I got a small peek at the lobby, though. It's _gorgeous_."

"And _huge_ ," Lisanna adds, standing up straight again after Plue has licked her hand clean.

Lucy reaches into her bag and takes out her camera. Most of her equipment is in one of her suitcases, but she kept her camera on her immediate person so she would be able to vlog their trip at a moment's notice. The others quickly see what she's doing and jump beside her so they're in frame.

"Hey, guys!" Lucy says once the camera's tiny light turns red. "We're here at our resort destination where we'll be staying for the next month. Laxus and the others are inside confirming our reservations, and other than them, it's just us here at the moment. The view is beautiful, by the way, I'm glad I brought my bathing suit, because I'd be screwed otherwise."

She turns the camera so it's facing the coast, watching the camera's LCD screen to ensure she's capturing it all from the best angle. She's about to say more when two cars roll into the parking lot, one that she recognises and one that she doesn't. Without thinking, she focused the camera on them, waiting for the occupants to get out. It's only when Levy slides out of her car in all her grinning glory that Lucy speaks again.

"It looks like the others have decided to join us!"

Gajeel grumbles as she climbs out of his own car, or at least Lucy _assumes_ it's his car. She doubts the rusty Chevy belongs to Juvia. "How can you be so happy after driving for so long?"

Juvia quickly apologises to Jet and Droy as she almost collides with them on her way out before responding to her best friend. "Don't be so down, Gajeel, it was only a few hours."

Before Gajeel can complain any more, Levy makes a delighted sound and Lucy moves over to her to see what all the fuss is about. She's quick to find out. A black cat around the same size as Happy is curled up in Juvia's arms, eyeing them all warily, and Lucy swears there's a scar right beside ones of his eyes. Despite the scepticism in his look, he's just as adorable as the rest of the pets, and Plue nudges Lucy with his nose, a clear sign he wants to get to know this new friend.

"Your cat is so adorable!" Levy says as Jet reaches out to pet the cat, who seems less wary once warm hands touch his fur.

"Oh, he's not mine," Juvia says, awkwardly twisting her body so she can gesture to Gajeel without disturbing Jet's patting fest. "He's Gajeel's!"

The look of surprise on everyone's faces says it all. Lucy swears the cat's eyes seem to narrow, as if they can sense their collective opinion about his owner. Gajeel, on the other hand, looks almost embarrassed, as though it was supposed to be some sort of well-guarded secret.

"His name is Panther Lily, but we just call him Lily," Juvia continues, oblivious to her friend's pain. Either that, or she doesn't care. "He was a rescue cat, you know. It was storming and Gajeel found him, it was the _cutest_ -"

" _Okay_ , Juvia, that's enough of _that_ , I'll be taking my cat" Gajeel scoops Lily out of Juvia's arms with minimal effort. " _Thank you_. Let's get our damn bags out of the back, yeah?"

His eyes flicker towards Lucy's camera and she looks down, only just remembering it's there. She takes the hint and is about to change the subject for the sake of both Gajeel and her vlog when a voice bellows across the parking lot.

 _"Mirajane! Lisanna!"_

As soon as Lucy sees Laxus storming towards them, the Raijinshu at his heels, she turns the camera off, but not without spinning it towards her so she can give the audience a ' _welp_ ' look. While she definitely wants to film whatever Laxus has in store for all of them, she has a feeling he wouldn't want that, and Mira and Lisanna's sly expressions have her more concerned than his anger.

"Is there a problem, Laxus?" Mira asks. Her tone is _scarily_ innocent.

"Of course there's a fucking problem! You and that model receptionist friend of yours -"

"- _Jenny_ -"

"- are conspiring against us! Leave your weird matchmaking habits at home!"

As soon as Laxus uses the word ' _matchmaking_ ', Lucy knows exactly what Mira and Lisanna have been up to. Or at least she can take a guess. She should have known that the two of them would put their heads together and think of some way to push things along, though she also thinks the two of them have a different definition of what a ' _thing_ ' is than everyone else does. This will most likely end in an awkward turn of events.

"Was there a problem with the rooms, Laxus?" Lisanna asks, smiling sweetly. "Don't you like your roommate?"

Freed's cough is stifled by his hand, but Lucy hears it. He doesn't look as angry about the situation as Laxus (and Evergreen, now that she sees her properly), just embarrassed, and Bickslow claps a hand on his shoulder. He seems to be the only one of the Raijinshu enjoying himself.

"That's not the problem," Laxus quickly insists as several cars turn into the parking lot, and once again, Lucy recognises a few. "The problem is that you did all this without asking any of us first!"

"We're all friends here, aren't we? We've had sleepovers at the office before, this won't be any different," Mira says, and before Laxus can retort, she heads over to where the newest arrivals have parked. "Guys, hey, welcome to the resort!"

Lucy watches as Alzack and Romeo help Bisca out of the car. She swears that Bisca looks five times bigger each time she sees her, even though she only spoke to her yesterday. Laki and Kinana are the first to lock up their cars and join them, but Lucy barely notices. She's more focused on the absolute _mess_ that is Natsu and the others. Their car is overflowing with bags, and Wendy is running beneath the car to drag Happy and Carla out from underneath. Cana is the only one actually doing something about the bag problem as Natsu and Gray have already started arguing. Lucy wouldn't be surprised if they were fighting during the whole trip up.

The only people they're missing now are the rest of the boys. Laxus doesn't seem to care, however, and continues on as normal. "I guess we better start handing out these keys," he says through gritted teeth.

"I'll do it!" Lisanna says, plucking the bundle of card keys from Laxus and sorting through them. "Okay, so these belong to me and Mira." She hands Mira hers and keeps one for herself. "All of us are on the same floor, so there won't be any problems if we need to see each other right away."

The _real_ problem starts once she starts handing out the rest. "These are Laxus and Freed's." Freed takes his card with a hesitant hand while Laxus snatches his own. "And these are Elfman and Evergreen's." Elfman coughs and splutters while Evergreen steps on Bickslow's foot after he bursts out laughing.

"That's what you get for trying to trick your sisters by saying you two are engaged," Mira says to Elfman, nudging him in the side with a smirk.

"Here are Cana's, Erza's, and Wendy's." Lisanna holds the three cards like she's a magician about to perform a trick. "You guys have a bigger room, obviously. And then Kinana and Laki, and Jet and Droy." Hearing her roommate's names but not her own has Levy frowning, and Lucy has a sneaking suspicion she knows what the end arrangement might be. "Bickslow, you take the cards for you and the boys who aren't here yet." Bickslow salutes and swipes the cards. "Alzack and Bisca have a joined room with Romeo. It's technically two rooms, but they're joined by one door, so Romeo will be there to help you if you need it."

Bisca smiles as she takes her key card. "Thanks, Lisanna," she says, and Lucy wonders when the baby is actually due. Not during the month they'll be away, surely.

Lisanna finally stops in front of Lucy, and Lucy isn't even surprised when she says, "Here are Lucy's and Natsu's." It still makes her slightly nauseous, though, and she convinces herself it's from embarrassment rather than anything else.

Natsu doesn't seem bothered. On the contrary, he appears relieved. "Thank god, I thought I was gonna be stuck with Gray."

Gray punches him in the arm as Lisanna moves on to Levy. "Here are Levy and Gajeel's."

Lucy only just manages to swallow her laughter at Jet and Droy's outbursts and Levy and Gajeel's shocked faces. She'd expected Levy to be roomed with Juvia, and she's glad she's not the only one paired with someone she doesn't _actually_ have a crush on. Still, she can't help but be worried based on the expressions of the two involved.

"It was a process of elimination, really. We want Gajeel to get along with us, and what better way to do that by getting to know one of the people he hacked?" Mira says, the smile on her face a stark contrast to her victims' mood. "We could have put Gajeel with Jet or Droy, but..." She gives the two boys a sympathetic look. "We didn't want either of you to end up dead."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?!" Droy frets, but he's ignored.

Lisanna turns to the last people left: Gray and Juvia. "You guys are left, it just sorta ended up that way. Here you go."

Juvia quickly takes the key, rocking on the balls of her feet, and Lucy swears she's humming some sort of uplifting tune. Gray is less enthusiastic, but he takes the card with begrudging expression. "As long as I'm not with Natsu."

Natsu raises his card like a glass of wine. "Here, here!"

"Wait." Everyone looks at Evergreen. "How many beds are there in each room, exactly?"

Mira shrugs, grinning. "We told the reception to _surprise_ us."

 _'Mira is lucky that everyone loves her,'_ Lucy thinks as Laxus blows his top again.

* * *

When Lucy and Natsu walk into their suite with Plue and Happy at their heels, she doesn't think she's ever been so relieved to see two beds in one room. They're one of the lucky ones. She can still hear Evergreen and Elfman arguing down the hall over who's going to sleep on the couch and who gets the bed. So far, Evergreen is winning, but Elfman's _'I'm too big to fit on the couch, you're nice and slender!'_ is a compelling argument.

"These beds are huge!" Natsu says, dumping his travel bag on the bed furthest from the door and diving into the neat arrangement of pillows, completely messing them up. Happy quickly joins them.

Lucy takes more care with her belongings. "They're bigger than expected, definitely, but I'm not complaining. And the view is great." She gestures to the glass doors that lead onto the deck. They're on the eighth floor, and they have a perfect view of the ocean from where they are. It's _amazing_.

Natsu laughs joyously, rushing over to the window like an excited kid, throwing the door open and letting the breeze rush through his hair. Lucy can't help the fond smile that creeps up on her face. She slowly moves over to join him and he pushes the door open just that little bit further so she can settle in beside him.

"You're right," he says, lifting Happy into his arms when the blue cat mews at his feet. "This is a great view. Gramps knows some amazing people, huh?"

Lucy hums in agreement, too entranced by the sea to give him a proper response. She doesn't know how long she stares at the glistening waves, at the families playing in the surf, at the couples walking along the shore with their hands intertwined. The scene reminds her of when she was younger and her father would actually take time off to spend with her and her mother. The beach was one of her favourite places to go when they were on holiday, and she remembers that her mother always loved the sunset.

Before she can dwell on the past any further, she forces herself to look away. It breaks whatever moment she and Natsu were swept up in, as he follows her inside and shuts the door as soon as she's retreated into their suite, but he doesn't ask her why. She appreciates that.

"So, we have some time until lunch," she says, unzipping her suitcase. "I'm ready to run some lines, how about you?"

During the week leading up to their little trip, Lucy, Levy, and Freed managed to finalise the script, and she has to say that she's quite proud of it. There are a few things she wasn't able to convince the others to get rid of, though. Or rather, just _one_ thing, and that's the big kiss at the end of the film between the princess and the dragon. She knows that it makes the film complete, the _pièce de résistance_ , but she couldn't help but attempt to refute it when it came up. It's not like kissing Natsu is the worst thing in the world. It's that she's _scared_.

She just doesn't know what of.

They don't have to practice that right now, though, and she makes a point of opening to the very first page, not even glancing at the last one. "Do you want to practice the scenes the two of us are in, or do you want to help each other with our other lines? I'm down for either."

"The second one sounds good," Natsu says, grabbing his own script. He doesn't handle it with as much care as Lucy and she cringes at just how many creases there are already. "You're onscreen first, right? Let's do this."

And so they begin. Even when their characters are not in the scene, they're still reading the opposite lines with enthusiasm and vigour, and Natsu jokes mid-way in that the two of them could carry the entire film on their shoulders. Lucy isn't surprised by how good Natsu is. Of course his natural charm and charisma would carry over to his acting skills. She just hopes that she's nearly half as good as he is.

They're about halfway through when there's a knock on their door. Lucy struggles to roll over to the other side of the bed to reach it, and she grumbles when Natsu laughs at her, but she gets there eventually. Laki stands on the other side with changed clothes and contacts instead of her usual glasses.

"We're about to go down for lunch, and Laxus wants to talk about what we'll be doing during this trip. He's in a bad mood, too," she says, and Lucy doesn't have to be a mind-reader to know why Laxus is in such a foul mood.

Natsu laughs behind her, already slipping his shoes back on. "Who wants to bet he and Freed got one bed?"

"Let's not bring that up to him, okay?" Lucy says, sliding her handbag over her shoulder. "I'd rather _survive_ this trip."

They decide to leave Happy and Plue in their room, since they have plenty of space to run around, and they won't be bored if they have each other. Their room is towards the end of the hall, right between Laki and Kinana's and Juvia and Gray's, the latter pair exiting their room at the same time. Juvia still seems as happy as she was before, but there's a tinge of _embarrassment_ in her expression that Lucy knows wasn't there before. The now shirtless Gray just looks grumpy.

"So," Natsu says, sliding up beside Gray and throwing an arm around his shoulder. "One bed or two?"

It's Juvia who answers, her face hidden in her hands. " _One_."

"I'm sleeping on the couch, though," Gray clarifies, shrugging Natsu's arm off and walking towards the elevator.

Natsu starts laughing, not put off by Gray's attitude in the slightest, and continues to bother him about it. Lucy ducks out of the conversation once she sees Levy and Gajeel leave their room, Lily perfectly content in Levy's arms. She meets them halfway to the elevator and nudges Levy, who already looks exhausted. Lucy hopes it's just lethargy from travelling.

"How are you doing?" she asks. She tries to be subtle, but she's very aware that Gajeel is close enough to them to hear, and his ears may as well be as good as Natsu's.

"We have two beds, so that's a good sign," Levy says. "And this little guy seems to like me." She lifts Lily up and he snuggles against her forearm. "What about you?"

"Two beds," Lucy says. "We got lucky."

The elevator isn't big enough to fit everyone, so the entire group has to take two trips down to the dining area. Even then, it's a tight fit, and Lucy finds herself squished between Levy and the elevator wall. It doesn't take long for them to reach the ground floor, but Lucy makes a big show of gasping for air as they file out into the lobby.

The dining area is more of a covered deck than a restaurant, and they grab the biggest table there is, which just so happens to have the best view of the beach. Laxus ensures that he's sitting at the head of the table as they all take their seats, and Lucy is relieved to see that he doesn't look too agitated. Looks could be deceiving, though.

"Alright, before all of you order, I spoke to the owner of this place. He said we can film anywhere we want as long as we're not harassing any of the other patrons or breaking any laws," Laxus says, his tone extremely business-like. "Since Lisanna's still finishing off some of the costumes, we'll just handle the shots of the scenery during the day tomorrow, plot some things out, and at night we can start filming properly. There's gonna be a lot of filming in the middle of the night, so be prepared for your sleep schedules to get a little fucked up. And if we need you on set, _we need you on set_."

They all nod in confirmation. Lucy doesn't see any problem with the rules. As long as they're doing their job, there shouldn't be a problem, right?

"And remember, this is a business trip, not a time to party," Laxus finishes off before opening his menu.

"Got it," Cana says, sounding just as serious until she rises in her seat and flags down the waiter. "Five bottles of your finest wine, please!"

On Cana's right, Juvia says, "That's so nice of you to treat us, Cana!"

As the waiter nods and rushes behind the bar, Cana blinks at Juvia. "I'm doing what now?"

Laxus bangs his head against the table so hard that Lucy's cutlery falls onto the floor.

* * *

 _hello everyone! i'm back from my holiday, so here's an update! also i realised just how bad i am at replying to reviews and such, so i'll just say that it's easier to contact me on my tumblr, ycmiis! (that moment when you have to check you have your own tumblr URL right)_


	10. Chapter 10

Natsu _falls_ into his and Lucy's room, hanging onto the doorknob for dear life as Lucy giggles behind him. Neither of them are drunk, but Natsu ate far too much at dinner, even for him, and he's paying the price for it now. He doesn't even lean down to pet Happy on his way over to his bed, and so the blue cat heads to Lucy for his attention. Plue is already asleep on the couch.

"This is the real reason fate was kind enough to give us two beds," Lucy says as Natsu lands face-first in his pillow. "It's so you don't end up puking all over me in the middle of the night."

Natsu simply groans in response, shifting so he's lying on his side. Lucy isn't in her bed. Instead, she's rummaging through one of the inner pockets of her smallest suitcase, and in the dim light, Natsu can make out shampoo and conditioner. He resists the urge to groan again when he realises he'll have to take a shower before going to bed. He's already too comfortable to move.

"Don't these places come with free hair stuff?" Natsu asks, voice muffled by his pillow.

Lucy sends him one of those _'you clearly wouldn't understand'_ looks as she stands, towel and pyjamas draped over one arm. "My hair is _long_ , Natsu. Those _tiny_ little bottles of _tiny_ little shampoo wouldn't even last me one shower. Besides, mine smells nicer."

Natsu nuzzles his pillow. "Whatever, I dunno anything about those name-brand things, anyway. I just use the supermarket one."

Lucy sighs, already halfway to the bathroom. "I'll be out in a bit."

The bathroom door closes and Natsu hears the faint sound of rushing water about half a minute later. He's tempted to fall asleep, but it isn't that late, and so he flicks on his bedside lamp and pulls out his script. He's been reading at least one scene every night before bed as some sort of memorisation tactic, and it seems to be working so far. He starts from where he and Lucy finished and reads his lines at least three times each, imagining how he should say them, muttering them to himself to test different inflections.

When he reaches the last scene of the film, he stops. This isn't the first time he's read through it, but it's the first time his co-lead has been in the other room, and he remembers Freed telling him earlier that Lucy had wanted to change the last scene so it was a hug instead of a kiss. It hadn't bothered him at the time, but now he wonders if there was a particular reason that Lucy was so adamant.

He's up to the very last line when the shower stops, and he places his script beside his pillow, knowing he'll lose it if he doesn't. Happy is curled up by his stomach, eyes closed. He gives the cat a soft scratch behind the ears as he waits for the bathroom door to open. Lucy emerges a minute or so later with wet hair and silk pyjamas, and she's surprised to see him awake.

"I thought you'd be in a food coma by now," she says, dumping her old clothes inside a different suitcase than the one from before.

"Nah, I was reading lines," Natsu says. He watches her for a moment, as if her body language will give him an answer to the question he wants to ask, but when it doesn't, he speaks anyway. "Hey, Lucy, can I ask you something?"

Lucy doesn't look at him as she slides into bed, a book in her hand. "Sure, what is it?"

"Why did you wanna write the kiss scene out of the movie so badly?" he asks, and he swears she freezes for a split second. "Freed told me, and I was just wondering. You don't need to do something you don't wanna do."

Lucy traces the spine of her book (an old classic he's never paid much attention to). "It's nothing to do with you, if that's what you're worried about."

That isn't really an answer, but that calms his worries. Just a little. "It's not that. I was just curious." When Lucy doesn't respond, only frowning at her book, he continues. "Okay, what if I guess what the problem is?"

That gets her attention. She looks up at him with an expression mixed with confusion and exasperation, but that's enough for him. "You're going to _what_?"

"Is it because you've never been kissed before? Is that it?" he asks, rather than responding to her question. He assumes it was rhetorical, anyway.

Lucy drops her book on the bedspread and glares at him. "I _have_ been kissed, thank you very much. Any other genius guesses?"

Natsu already has his next question in mind, but he pretends to seriously consider it, rubbing his chin with narrowed eyes. Then he says, tone completely serious, "I know exactly what it is. You're a horrible kisser, aren't you?"

He drops the act as Lucy makes an outraged sound, laughing as she chucks a pillow at him. He catches it effortlessly. "That is _not_ the case, you _ass_! I've been kissed by several people more than once, so your theory is complete and utter trash."

His laughter continues. It's so easy to tease Lucy, and it's quickly becoming one of his favourite pastimes. "Alright, alright, I'll take your word for it. For now. We'll see what the verdict is when we have to do that last scene, huh?" She narrows her eyes at him and Happy mews, as though telling her to calm down. Natsu likes to think that that's what's happening, anyway. "So, what? What's the problem?"

"I thought you were gonna guess?" Lucy grumbles, bringing her knees up to her chin.

"I couldn't think of anything else," Natsu says. "Nothing that would make you react like a crazy lady, anyway. It's not something like being camera-shy, is it? You're a natural, remember? I told you that before."

Lucy sighs and lies back on her remaining pillows. "That's different. I'm just being myself there. I'm not acting, and I _definitely_ don't have to portray a love story. I chose the celestial princess because I love stars and I thought she sounded like a really cool character, but I don't know if I'll be able to do everything right."

Natsu is tempted to tease her again, but then he sees the worry in her eyes, the way she's pulled her bedspread so it covers half her face, as if to hide. This is something she's really struggling with, it seems. He doesn't quite know what to say, but he has to say _something_ , and so he opens his mouth without thinking (as usual, but hopefully something good will come out of it this time).

"Hey," he says, softer than before. "You're Lucy Heartfilia and you're a badass in front of the camera, okay? You're gonna be the star of that film - no pun intended - and you're gonna be amazing, because that's how you are in front of a camera, and that's not gonna change 'cause you have a script. _You_ wrote that script. No one can play the princess nearly as well as you can."

Lucy slowly lowers her covers so he can see her whole face. She's smiling. "Thanks, Natsu. That means a lot."

Before he can say, ' _you're welcome_ ' in return, he yawns. "Shit, I'm tired. Bedtime."

He switches his lamp off and Lucy abandons her book before turning hers off as well. They settle into their beds and Natsu closes his eyes, but is very aware of Lucy's presence on the opposite side of the room, barely an arm's length away. The only sound he can hear is the sound of the wind and the sea outside as well as the vibrant hum of the guests in the restaurant.

"Natsu?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I have my pillow back?"

"Nope."

"I hate you."

"No, you don't."

* * *

"Ow!"

"Stay still."

"I would if you'd stop stabbing me!"

"It barely touched you, you big baby."

Natsu swears that Lisanna is doing this on purpose at this point. She's in the middle of fitting his costume, which is taking forever because so much goes into it, and the longer it takes, the more opportunities Lisanna has to accidentally poke him with the sewing pins. Or ' _accidentally_ ', in his opinion. Lisanna isn't _that_ clumsy. She's enjoying this, he knows she is.

It's only the two of them and Mira in the room. Juvia is helping with the costumes, too, but she's gone to hunt down Elfman and Evergreen, who have mysteriously disappeared before their fitting was due to start. Natsu can't blame them. If he'd known that Lisanna would take the opportunity to make fun of him the entire time, he would have hidden away somewhere, too.

Still, with just Lisanna and Mira in the room, he can ask for advice, preferably without being made fun of. At least for the most part.

"Hey, guys, can I ask you something?"

Lisanna doesn't stop pinning bits and pieces of his costume, but Mira looks over from the sewing machine. "Of course, what is it?"

"What do you do when someone you're working with is nervous about something, but there's no way to change it, so you wanna make them as comfortable as possible with it, but you don't know how?" he asks all in one go, and he takes a deep breath once he's finished.

Lisanna actually looks at him this time. "This is about the kiss scene with Lucy, isn't it?"

Natsu coughs, but he can't deny it. "How'd you know?"

Both Lisanna and Mira give him a look as the latter says, "It was obvious. Besides, I was there when Lucy was talking about it to Levy and Freed, so it wasn't that hard to guess. Did she talk to you about it?"

"We talked about it last night, yeah." Natsu had been the one to bring it up, but he wasn't about to mention that. Perhaps Lucy hadn't wanted to tell him in the first place? That was plausible. "She said there was nothing in particular she was worried about, just the fact that she's not used to acting in front of the camera rather than being herself."

"I have an idea," Mira says. "Remember when we were all at the orphanage and we put on all those plays to raise money?"

"And you and Erza kept arguing over the lead role? Yeah."

Mira decides to ignore him. "Remember how Lisanna and I made those scented flowers for everyone, the one with the calming aromas, and we all used to keep them with us before we went onstage, and the entire backstage was filled with that calming scent, so we were able to stay focused? What if I made one of those for Lucy?"

Natsu grins, and if Lisanna wasn't holding a pin right by his collar, he would run over to Mira and hug her. "That's a great idea! Could you do it by tomorrow night? I think that's when we start shooting."

"Of course, they barely take ten minutes to make."

"Thanks!"

The door bursts open then, and Juvia appears in the doorway, Evergreen and Elfman behind her with red faces. "Juvia has apprehended Evergreen and Elfman!"

"And where were you two?" Lisanna asks, momentarily looking up from Natsu's costume. "You were supposed to be here an hour ago!"

Evergreen holds her head up high. "We - we just got sidetracked, that's all."

Lisanna narrows her eyes. "With what?"

Both their faces grow redder and Elfman bellows, " _Nothing!_ "

* * *

The following night is when they start filming. Laxus and the rest of the film crew had been out there the previous night, getting in some landscape shots and blocking various scenes, searching the location for the best spots for different scenes. Everything is mostly set up when Natsu and Lucy arrive. Gajeel and Reedus are messing about with one of the tripods, and Lisanna is putting the finishing touches on Cana's costume. They're filming the celestial princess's arrival tonight as well as the fortune teller's scene. Natsu only came for moral support.

Once he's sure no one is around to disturb them, Natsu leads Lucy off to the side where some equipment cases are stacked, and he sits on one while she sits on another. She takes a moment to ensure her costume doesn't crinkle.

"What's up?" she asks, and while she smiles at him, he can tell she's nervous by the way her shoulders are up high, her feet constantly moving.

Taking the flower out from his pocket, he places it in the palm of his hand and offers it to her. "Here, this is for you. To help your nerves. Mira made it. She used to make them for all of us when we had to perform to raise money for the orphanage and we'd get nervous."

Lucy takes the flower, treating it with care as she brings it to her face and breathes in the scent. "It wonderful, thank you," she says, and Natsu is happy to see her shoulders relax. When she looks at him again, though, she seems confused. "You guys were in an orphanage?"

It takes Natsu a moment to catch up. Of course Lucy wouldn't know. He's so used to everyone else on the channel knowing about their circumstances, even those who weren't there in the orphanage days, that he forgot that no one had told Lucy. It's not public knowledge, and when they're asked in Q&As how they know each other, they just say that they're all childhood friends. There's no way she would know.

He responds casually, though. "Yeah, a lot of us are. That's how we all met and why we started the channel. Gramps suggested it to us when we were bored one summer, and the rest was history. Now it's a business, but we have fun."

Lucy's smile widens the slightest bit, and she twirls the flower around in her hand. "Well, thanks for telling me. It's nice to be trusted with stuff like that."

Natsu just smiles as Lucy is called over to begin shooting. "Of course! What are friends for?"

* * *

 _sorry for the late update! things will be slow going for a bit, since i'm writing something for nanowrimo (which happens to be a fairy tail next gen fic, though it'll probably be rushed and atrocious, so i'm not sure whether i'll publish it or not). this chapter is also shorter than i'd like it to be, but it seemed like a good place to leave it off!_


	11. Chapter 11

Lucy wanders around the forest, eyes taking in all the night sky has to offer, or what she can see of it, anyway. The trees are clumped together, the branches and leaves blocking her view of the stars and the moon unless she stands at a certain angle. She hears a noise from up ahead and her pace slows. She needs to be cautious. The last thing she wants to do is run into trouble. The tips of her toes are all she uses to move, slowly slinking around the corner, and -

" _Cut!_ "

Laxus' voice rings throughout the clearing and Lucy immediately drops so she's standing normally again. This is the sixth time they've run through the same sequence, and while she knows it's essential to get shots from every angle, she wishes she could do a more interesting scene. It's the first time anyone will actually see her in the film, so it's definitely important to get it right, but the meat of it all comes later when she actually gets to interact with the other characters.

"Alright, we've got all we need for that scene, let's take five and we'll have the princess meet the old married couple," Laxus says, already picking up his coffee thermos.

Lucy sighs and heads out to where Natsu, Evergreen, and Elfman are sitting. She plops down beside Natsu and raises an eyebrow as she watches the other two whisper heatedly to each other, as though there aren't people right in front of them who can hear every word you're saying.

"Don't screw this up, okay, you big oaf?"

"You're the one who took forever to get ready, Ever."

"Don't call me Ever!"

Lucy leans closer to Natsu and asks in a low voice, "Have they been like this the entire time?"

"Yep," Natsu replies with a bored expression on his face. "Watching you act was the only thing keeping me sane. I have no idea what you were worried about, you know. You're a natural out there."

Lucy has to fight off the oncoming blush (from such candid flattery, of course, nothing else) and covers her cheek with her hand. "I was only walking around, looking at everything. It didn't take much of an effort."

"If you say so," Natsu says, sending her a look that shows he disagrees. "I just want it to be _my_ turn. This costume's badass and all, but it gets uncomfy when you've been wearing it for so long."

Lucy has to agree that the costume is as badass as Natsu says it is. When the dragon is in his human form, he wears an open vest and dark, ripped pants with no shoes. They all shimmer when he moves, along with his skin. Mira may have gone a bit too far with the body glitter. The best part of the costume, at least in Lucy's humble opinion, is the wings. They stretch out behind him, a fiery orange-red with shimmering scales that Lisanna took care to put on one by one. They're as big as Natsu's body, and she wonders how he can even move with them on.

"Patience is a virtue," she says as Laxus decides it's been five minutes, calling Elfman and Evergreen up to go over the first part of the scene.

Natsu grumbles, but she just laughs and waits for her turn to come yet again.

It isn't long before she has to join Elfman and Evergreen on set. She waves at a pouting Natsu as she leaves, preparing herself for the arguments the old married couple are about to get into, but she's pleasantly surprised to find the two of them only arguing in-character, not out of it. It's only after the scene is finished and they're free to do what they want to that the two return to their usual state. Laxus has to order them off set, going as far to tell them to go to bed, or anywhere but the filming location. They do just that.

"Finally, it's my turn!" Natsu says, leaping up, wings almost making him fall backwards.

"C'mon, get out there, since you're so eager," Laxus says before continuing his conversation with Reedus and (begrudgingly) Gajeel.

Natsu doesn't need to be told twice. Lucy is sure he would run onto the set if not for the wings, and she can only imagine how mad Lisanna and Mira would be if he ruined them. It's probably best that he's cautious for once.

"Alright, the scene where the princess meets the dragon, let's go."

Lucy completely absorbs herself in her character. On the surface, it's as though all she's doing is taking a deep breath, but it's more than that. Her expression changes, as does her body language, because she isn't Lucy anymore. She's the celestial princess. Natsu stands further away from her, head turned to the side as Laxus directed him to do earlier, hair blowing slightly in the wind. Only his wings remain sturdy.

" _Action!_ "

The celestial princess walks through the tall grass, confused as to where she is and what she's doing here. It's only when she turns her head that she spots the winged man, and she hesitantly walks towards him, swallowing thickly.

"Hello," she calls out, half-hoping the wind will carry her voice away.

It doesn't. He turns to her with bright eyes, the rest of his face giving nothing away, and she steps back as his gaze lingers on her longer than she thought possible. It's only then that he speaks.

"Who are you?"

"I'm just a princess. My name isn't important. Who are you?"

"Just a king." The corner of his mouth slides up. "My name isn't important, either. You aren't from around here, are you?"

She pushes some hair out of her face. "How could you tell?"

The shrug he gives her is lazy, almost out of place in such a situation, but it suits him. She doesn't know how she knows that. She just does.

"Intuition," he says. "I'd be happy to show you around."

He comes closer and offers his hand. She meets him halfway and takes it.

"I think I'll take you up on that."

* * *

The following morning, Lucy wakes up to blinding sunlight streaming in through her window and cat fur up her nose. Happy must have made himself comfortable during the night, she realises when she leans on her elbow and sees the small cat napping beside her pillow. He seems to be gravitating towards her more and more, and she can't say she dislikes it, especially when he and Plue get along so well.

Any feelings of endearment she has are instantly washed away the moment she pulls out her phone and checks the time. It's not the morning, but the _afternoon_ , and Lucy groans once she realises just how messed up her sleeping schedule has become. Laxus did warn them, she supposes. She just didn't expect it to be _this_ bad.

Forcing herself up while also avoiding Happy's sleeping form, she looks over at the bed adjacent to hers. Natsu is asleep stomach-down, head to the side, and she's convinced that such a position can't be comfortable. Natsu did say he could sleep anywhere, but she thinks this is taking it a bit too far. It doesn't matter, though. Not when she's about to wake him up.

Grabbing her pillow, she tosses it in his direction. It hits him on the head. "Wake up! We've been asleep for too long!"

"Not long enough," Natsu whines, though his voice is muffled by the pillow, so it sounds more like _'nuh lov enug'_.

"It's the afternoon already! Don't you want to catch up on breakfast _and_ lunch?"

That does it. Natsu launches himself out of bed, almost tripping over Plue, who squeaks and ducks for cover under one of the chairs in the corner. Lucy can only watch with amusement as he kicks off his pyjama pants while crossing the room, grabbing a shirt and tugging it on all the while. A pair of shorts come right after, but the real struggle is his shoes, which have been misplaced since they came back to the room last night.

"Where _are_ they?" he mutters to himself, flipping over his suitcase.

Deciding to just leave him be, Lucy heads over to the bathroom and cleans herself up before grabbing her camera and pressing the record button. The world needs to know what's happening.

"Hey, guys! I'm in the bathroom, and those weird shouts you're hearing? Yes, that's Natsu, he can't find his shoes."

"They're my only pair, Lucy!"

"That's your own fault!" Lucy yells in the direction of the bathroom door before giggling at the camera. "He almost tripped over Plue."

"Did not!"

Lucy only gives the camera another look before ending the clip, but she tucks it into her bag so she can continue to use it throughout the day. Although Laxus told them this wasn't a holiday, they're still going to make the most of it, and so the lot of them all plan on going down to the beach later, whenever they're ready. Picking a time would just make everything inconvenient, what with everyone's fluctuating schedules. It would be too much.

Once Natsu finally finds his shoes (they were hidden behind the bathroom door), the two of them grab Happy and Plue and make their way downstairs. They aren't the only late risers, it seems. Elfman and Gajeel are talking by the restaurant's front counter, and Cana has made herself at home by the bar. By the amount of empty glasses in front of her, she's been there a while. Lucy isn't surprised.

As they approach Elfman and Gajeel, Happy meows, and Natsu says, "Happy's wondering where Lily is."

If Gajeel finds it strange that Natsu knows how to translate cat speak, he doesn't show it. "He's with Levy. He's _always_ with Levy nowadays."

"Maybe Lily just knows better company when he sees it," Natsu suggests, and has to dodge Gajeel's fist as it's swung his way.

Deciding to leave the boys to their discussion - if it can really be called that - Lucy scoops Happy up in her arms and gestures for Plue to follow her as she heads down to the beach. She can already see some familiar forms in the distance, and it's not long before breakfast/lunch has been momentarily forgotten, as she spots Levy herself. Gajeel was right; Lily loves her. He's content to just sit beside her as she reads.

"Afternoon," Lucy says as she plops down. Happy immediately jumps out of her arms and goes to bother Lily.

Levy grins, closing her book over her finger so she can keep her place. "Lu-chan, you're up! How was filming?"

" _Exhausting_." Lucy lies back on Levy's beach towel and Plue jumps up on her stomach. "Laxus is a real slave driver. I'm just lucky I was in most of the scenes. I think I would've gone insane if I was forced to sit on the sidelines and watch for most of the night. Natsu definitely looked ready to go by the time he was finally called for our first scene."

Levy's grin simmers down into a smile, but there's a hint of a smirk that Lucy's learned to both love and hate. "Speaking of, are you prepared for the kiss scene yet?"

Lucy groans and covers her face with her arm. "Not at all. I've stopped thinking about it, to be honest. I feel a bit better about it after we talked about it, but it's still nerve-wracking. I've never kissed anyone in front of people before, let alone for the camera. But I guess if Natsu's okay with it, it can't be that bad."

"See? It'll all work out," Levy says, nudging Lucy's shoulder. "And if worst comes to worst, you could always ask him to _practice_ with you."

Lucy just groans again and slaps Levy's arm.

* * *

Lucy spends the evening editing and scrolling through her video comments, which she realises a little too late may have been a mistake.

 _'THEY HAVE A ROOM TOGETHER DID MIRA DO THIS'_

 _'happy's been spending a lot of time with lucy lately.'_

 _'this ? domesticity ? i'm so here for it ?'_

If only they knew what the film had in store for them. They'd probably go insane. She doesn't know whether to be amused or terrified about it.

"Whatcha doin'?"

Natsu's chin is suddenly on her shoulder, and she resists the urge to jump up in case she bumps him. She's glad she already scrolled back up to the video so the comments aren't visible, though she wonders if it would make a difference. Does Natsu know about the comments? Does he receive similar ones on his channel? She tells herself that she'll take a look later, then scolds herself because why is she so invested? It shouldn't matter what the comments say. She knows the truth.

"Just editing and looking through comments and stuff," she says before closing the browser, just to be safe. "I'm just about done, anyway."

"Great!" Natsu doesn't spare her laptop a second glance, and she hates herself for being so self-conscious about it. "You wanna run through some lines again?"

Lucy smiles briefly, already leaning over her desk to grab her script. "Always. Practice makes perfect."

The moment she says that, Natsu's demeanour changes ever so slightly. He still has that casual air about him that he always does, but there's a hint of awkwardness that Lucy has never associated with him before, and she can't help but feel nervous. Is something wrong? Did something happen? She crosses the second one out, as she's sure if something had happened, he wouldn't have suggested running lines. So what is it?

"Natsu? What's wrong?" she asks softly, fiddling with the edges of her script.

Natsu runs a hand through his hair. "Well, I was wondering, since you seemed so nervous about it the other night, what if we practice the kissing scene?"

It takes Lucy a few moments to realise what he means, as they _have_ practised that scene before, just without the kiss involved. He means the _entirety_ of the scene, lip-lock and all, and she can suddenly understand why he's so fidgety. She can feel herself becoming that way, too.

And yet, to her horror, she finds herself answering with, "Sure, why not?"

She sounds calm enough. Perhaps her acting skills are better than she initially thought if she hasn't cracked yet, but it's too soon to tell. They haven't even started the scene yet.

Natsu appears relieved by her willingness to go along with his plan, and he flips through the pages of the script until he finds the scene he's looking for. Lucy does the same.

"Great! Alright, where should we go from? The beginning of the scene?" he asks.

"The beginning of the scene sounds good," she says, though she'd be lying if she said she didn't have an ulterior motive. She wants to prolong this for as long as possible. Logically, she knows she should just get this over and done with, that it's not going to go away, but make her feel worse instead, but Terrified Lucy is winning over Logical Lucy at the moment, and so she doesn't try and rectify her mistake.

Natsu clears his throat before starting the scene.

"The moon cycle is almost complete. The moon will be full again and you can return home."

He doesn't need his script anymore, and neither does Lucy, though she has to resist the urge to hide behind it as she speaks.

"Is that so?"

"You don't sound so sure. This was your plan in the first place. Are you having second thoughts?"

Natsu's voice is hopeful, just as the dragon king is supposed to be. At this point in the story, he's deeply in love with the celestial princess and doesn't want her to leave. She doesn't either, and all that's holding her back from staying is the fear that he doesn't feel the same way she does, that she'll just be a burden if she stays. Everything would be sorted if they simply told each other how they felt, but they don't. Lucy can sympathise.

"I-I don't - I _don't know_."

He takes a step forward. "Anything I can help with?"

Lucy makes the mistake of getting too in-character and looking up, just as the celestial princess would. Natsu is staring down at her with such soft yet insistent eyes that her breath catches in her throat, and she's glad she can pass it off as acting. She looks away just as the script tells her to. It's a relief to not have to look into Natsu's eyes, to have an actual excuse not to.

"Not really," she recites. "It's my fault. I'm indecisive, I - it's hard to explain. I want to stay, but I don't want to if I'm unwanted."

"Unwanted?" Natsu is frowning, and Lucy doesn't need to look at the script to know it. She can feel it. "Did I make you feel that way? Please don't tell me I made you feel that way."

Lucy ensures her breath is shaky before she speaks again. "No, you didn't, I promise. You've been nothing but good to me, but... What happens when you get sick of me? Will you leave? I don't know if I - if I could really _live_ here if you do."

A hand touches her cheek, but she knew it was coming. It's all in the script. She has to remind herself of that as he gently turns her head so she's looking directly at him again. She's prepared for his expression this time, though. Now isn't the time to get distracted, even if they're just practising.

"I'll never get sick of you." His voice is a hoarse whisper. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

He leans in and she closes her eyes. His lips touch hers, warm and soft, and her stomach flutters. She rests her hands on his arms as the kiss deepens on both sides, as though both of them had the desire to at the same time. His free hand comes to rest behind her head until reality sets in and they have to break apart to breathe, but the scene isn't over. She wraps her arms around his neck as his snake along her waste and pull her in. His forehead rests against hers and he closes his eyes. She does, too.

" _Aaaaaand cut!_ "

Natsu's voice shakes her out of her thoughts and she immediately lets him go, the weight of what just transpired hitting her like a tonne of bricks. Right, of course, this was just a practise run, because this isn't real. She forces herself to remember that as she looks up at Natsu again, the serious expression he'd worn as the dragon king had vanished, now replaced by his usual easy-going smile.

"Maybe I'm biased, but I'd say we don't have to worry, don't you? We've got this in the bag!" He winks at her, and that's when Lucy realises he was doing this for her benefit. Because she was nervous. The thought shouldn't give her a sudden surge of emotion, but here she is, and she makes sure to keep herself calm.

"Yeah, we did better than I thought," she says with a small smile.

Natsu returns the smile for a split second before breaking into a yawn. He doesn't bother to cover his mouth, stretching his arms over his head. "All that intense acting made me tired, though. I'm gonna have a shower before going to bed. What about you?"

"Oh, uh - I'll just read and have a shower in the morning, I think." Natsu's yawning must be contagious, as she has to fight one down herself.

"Suit yourself! I'll be out in ten. Fifteen, tops," he says, oblivious to her inner turmoil as he grabs a towel and saunters into the bathroom. Happy and Plue try following him, but aren't quick enough.

As soon as she hears the water hitting the tiles, Lucy dives onto her bed and muffles a scream into her pillow. When she closes her eyes, she can still see Natsu's expression right before he kissed her, the gentle way he touched her, how his lips seemed perfect over hers, and it makes her want to both smile and cry because it's not real. They're just acting, that's what actors do. They do it for the cameras. There shouldn't be a problem with that, right?

Except there _is_ , because the only conclusion Lucy can draw from tonight is that she has the biggest crush in the _universe_ on Natsu Dragneel.

* * *

 _bET YOU THOUGHT YOU'D SEEN THE LAST OF ME_

 _i hope you guys had a good holiday! even though i'm late in saying so._


	12. Chapter 12

"I know we have to record stuff for the gaming channel, but this isn't exactly what I thought we'd be doing," Gray says, watching Natsu and Bickslow draw lines in the sand. "You know this place has an arcade, right?"

"I thought you'd be happy to spend time in a place where taking your shirt off is actually normal." Natsu stands up straight again and catches the volleyball that Alzack tosses his way. "Or are you just afraid you'll burn instead of tan?"

Regardless of Gray's answer, it doesn't change the fact that his shirt is already off, and Natsu is sure his shorts will be gone by the end of their filming session. He seems to strip more when he's outside. Natsu wishes he didn't know that, he really does, but living with Gray Fullbuster means learning things about him that he should never have to.

"Whatever, let's just do this," Gray says, turning to where Wendy and Romeo are sitting with Bisca and the cats. Wendy has the volleyball, and she tosses it to him the moment he claps and lifts his hands to catch it. Being heavily pregnant, Bisca can't play herself, so she's been nominated as the referee while Romeo and Wendy are in charge of recording. It's usually a job they leave up to Reedus and Warren, but the two of them are busy working with Laxus. The team can make do for the moment.

"Who's partnered with who?" Alzack asks, looking to Bisca for guidance. She's always been better at picking teams when they're facing off.

Bisca leans forward as much as she can with her swollen belly. "Since Gray won our last competition and Natsu won the one before that, I'm going to give them a disadvantage. They're working together."

Gray looks just as insulted as Natsu feels, but this isn't the first time the two of them have been paired up for the channel, and it certainly won't be the last. They can handle this.

"Don't get in my way, strip-tease."

"As long as you don't get in mine, flamebrain."

They start recording after that, Natsu ensuring he makes a big deal over being teamed up with Gray, and the four of them start their game. Bisca is a harsh referee, even to her husband, who sulks and pouts, but never out of any genuine negative feelings on his part. They're attracting an audience by the time they're halfway through, and they take a ten minute break to refresh and regroup, which Natsu definitely things is necessary, considering _Gray_ is causing them to fall into last place.

Natsu is chugging down at least half his bottle of water when he hears Laxus' voice from the deck overlooking the beach.

"Hey, Natsu! Don't tire yourself out too much, we're filming the end scene tonight!"

He doesn't give Natsu a chance to respond, spinning on his heel and stalking back towards the resort. It's not as though Natsu has any complaints, anyway. He knows that out of all the cast members, he and Lucy will be the ones needed on set the most, and they'd had a break yesterday. That being said, though, he'd been sure that the ending scene would have been filmed, well, at the end. Curse his inexperience when it comes to actual movies.

And since it's the kiss scene, that reminds him of a whole _other_ can of worms he'd rather not open. He and Lucy only practised the kiss one time, but it was enough to start an entire avalanche of thoughts, all tumbling after each other, and he couldn't quite make sense of them. He still can't. He isn't stupid. He knows that _something_ is there, at least on his side, but he doesn't think now is the time to explore it. They have a job to do first.

He doesn't realise he's paused mid-sip until Romeo is by his side, Wendy also making her way over to them with the cats. He wonders how she managed to snag Lily from under Gajeel's nose. It's a funny sight, really. Lily is curled up in her arms, Carla draped over her shoulders, and Happy perfectly balanced on her head.

"You're planning on making a comeback, right, Natsu?" Romeo asks, looking out at the gathered crowd. "I already bet against Bisca that you'd win!"

Natsu makes an offended noise. "Of _course_ I am. That's how it works - make them think you're the underdog, then kick their asses in the second half! It keeps the people on edge." He gestures to the beach-goers. Some of them seem to recognise them, mostly teenagers and young adults, and he gives them a wave. "Besides, it's Gray that's been dragging us down."

Gray, who is now only down to his boxers, whirls on him. "Say it to my face, asshole!"

Natsu would, but Bisca calls for them to resume playing before he can. He settles for a rude gesture before running onto the court.

* * *

The sun is at its highest point in the sky as Natsu shuffles into his room, dejected. Plue meets him at the door and he smiles, bending down to pat him on the head. He needs a bit of pet-loving after his and Gray's defeat. In their defence, it was a very close call, a mere two point difference, but Bickslow didn't let it go. He probably still hasn't. Natsu can't begrudge him, though. He acts the same whenever he wins.

Standing straight as Plue darts back into the room, he's about to call out to Lucy when he notices her tucked beneath her covers. A book dangles from her hand, about to fall on the floor, and her head is off to the side of her pillow, barely touching it. Only a few strands of hair cover it. No wonder Plue was so quick to greet him. He was probably concerned that someone had come to bother his sleeping owner.

Without thinking, Natsu slips the book out of Lucy's already loose grip and places it on the nightstand. He's tempted to move her head so she's more comfortable, but after taking a brief look at her serene expression, he can't bring himself to. Their sleeping schedules have been all over the place since they started filming, and so he knows that they need sleep where they can catch it. He isn't tired himself, so he just connects his earphones to his phone and listens to some music while relaxing. Plue snuggles up beside him.

It's another hour before Lucy lifts her heads, blinking wearily as she scans the room. She rubs her eyes as she says, "What time is it?"

Natsu pauses his music and rips his earphones out. "About one-thirty? You were asleep when I came back."

"Oh, right, you needed to film for the gaming channel," she says. She doesn't make any move to get off, instead adjusting her position to make herself a little more comfortable. So it's easier to watch him. "Did you win?"

Natsu pouts. "No. Bisca forced Gray and I to play on the same team, and he dragged us down. We lost by two points!"

Lucy laughs. It's a low, soft sound. "Losing would do you a bit of good, I think. We don't want your head to get _too_ big."

With a gasp, he fakes offence. "Lucy! I thought you'd be on my side! I thought you loved me!"

He watches as her cheeks glow a faint pink. There's a cheeky smile on her face. "I tolerate you," is what she says, but the truth lies in her playful tone, and he can't help but grin.

* * *

It's just them needed on set tonight. The others get a rest while the two of them are subjected to Laxus and his foul mood. Natsu knows that Laxus isn't usually like this, at least not this badly, but everything about this movie seems to be setting him on edge, and Natsu wonders just how much sleep he's had since they've been here. He makes a note to himself to ask Freed about that.

It doesn't take long for their makeup to be done and their costumes to be perfectly in place. After so many nights of doing the same thing over and over, Mira and Lisanna have their makeup down to a practised hand. It's impressive, really. Natsu isn't about to stand there and say he knows how makeup works, but he trusts them enough to assume he looks good on camera.

Lucy, whose makeup takes a bit longer, approaches him once she's done. The glitter beneath her eyes sparkles in the dim moonlight. "Ready?"

"Yeah, ready to go to bed," he says, covering his mouth as he yawns. He doesn't want Laxus to see it. "I should've followed your example and gotten some shut-eye this afternoon. I'm tired from all that volleyball playing."

Lucy giggles. "All the more reason to get this perfect, right? The faster Laxus is satisfied, the faster we can get to sleep."

Laxus calls them over then, giving them a run-through of the scene. It's simple, not much movement. They'll have to shoot the scene several times for the sake of different camera angles, not to mention if one of them messes up. That means they'll have to kiss several times as well, and Natsu is surprisingly okay with that. Perhaps the more he does it, the more likely it'll be that he'll be desensitised to it, and the unintelligible thoughts plaguing him since their first real practice run will disappear. He hopes that's the case.

They stand in the place the celestial princess and the dragon king first meet, the only difference being how close they are. The two characters are no longer strangers, but friends who wish and hope to be something more, neither of them with the courage to bridge the gap. It's only in the last scene that they'll manage to do so.

"Action!" Laxus calls, and so they begin.

"The moon cycle is almost complete," Natsu says, staring up at the moon. Now he understands why Laxus wanted them to film tonight; the moon is almost, but not quite, full. "The moon will be full again and you can return home."

He can't see her, but he feels Lucy's hesitance as the celestial princess. "Is that so?"

When he turns to her, she isn't meeting his gaze, but he isn't concerned. It's all in the script. "You don't sound so sure. This was your plan in the first place. Are you having second thoughts?" He ensures that he sounds only the slightest bit hopeful. Enough for the audience to see, but not enough that the celestial princess would pick it up amidst her anxiety.

"I-I don't - I _don't know_." Lucy's head hangs lower, and Natsu is met with both a sinking feeling and relief at the same time. Relief because Lucy is just acting, but the sinking feeling because he doesn't ever want to see Lucy really make such an expression. He's seen it before, back when her father was giving them problems, but it didn't have as strong an effect back then. It had still been horrible, though.

He steps forward, swallowing thickly. "Anything I can help with?"

She finally meets his gaze, and he's staring into an endless brown. If he looks hard enough, he can see his own reflection. The image of himself is taken from him as she looks away. He can't help but feel the absence of her gaze, and he doesn't know how he feels about that.

"Not really," she says, and he can see the celestial princess' inner turmoil in her body language. "It's my fault. I'm indecisive, I - it's hard to explain. I want to stay, but I don't want to if I'm unwanted."

"Unwanted?" Of course the dragon king is confused. He's confused and, above all, concerned. He spends the majority of the movie ensuring the celestial princess feels included and safe. That she's wanted. Natsu lets the dragon king's vulnerability show on his face, worry seeping through. "Did I make you feel that way? Please don't tell me I made you feel that way."

Lucy quickly shakes her head. "No, you didn't, I promise. You've been nothing but good to me, but... What happens when you get sick of me? Will you leave? I don't know if I - if I could really live here if you do."

That in itself is a confession of love, hidden beneath layers of insecurity. Natsu slowly reaches out to cup Lucy's cheek and gently turns her head towards him. His touch is light and as hesitant as the dragon king is supposed to feel, and he sees that unsure feeling reflected in Lucy's eyes once again.

"I'll never get sick of you," he says, voice barely above a whisper, but the sound equipment will be able to catch his voice easily. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

He leans closer, lips tingling in anticipation until they connect with hers. He starts off hesitant at first, having to keep what the dragon king would do in the back of his mind, and he's startled to realise he wants to deepen the kiss almost immediately. Now isn't the time for that. He does eventually deepen it, and she reciprocates, her hands tugging at his vest to steady herself. His other hand reaches up to cup her other cheek as her hands let go of his clothing and her arms slide around his neck. She pulls him towards her, bridging the last of the gap between their bodies as they have to break apart for air. He rests his forehead on hers as they slowly open their eyes and breathe out.

"Cut!" Laxus' voice shakes Natsu out of a trance he hadn't realised he was in, and he feels a twinge of annoyance towards their director. "Alright, quick makeup retouch and we'll run the scene again."

Natsu lets relief fill him as Mira starts fussing over his already-impeccable makeup. The first take of the scene is done, which means the rest will be easier. There will be less of his emotions and more of the dragon king's. That's how it should be, after all.

Except, that's not what happens.

It doesn't matter how many times they run the scene. Every single time, he discovers something new about Lucy, or something changes that he can't help but notice. Sometimes it's a loose strand of hair that he tucks behind her ear right before he kisses her, or the way she shivers slightly from the cold that has him placing his warm hands on her shoulders rather than her cheeks. Nothing changes because _everything_ keeps changing, and he doesn't quite know what to make of that.

Laxus approaches him once they're done for the night, actually looking pleased for once, and says, "Good job out there. Didn't know you had it in you, you two."

Natsu finishes sipping his water, eyebrow raised. "What do you mean?"

"The chemistry between you two," Laxus says, and if Natsu didn't know any better, he would say the older man was thoroughly amused at the thought. "You two are better actors than I thought. Always room for improvement, though."

He walks away, effortlessly carrying his camera equipment in one hand, leaving Natsu to stare at him as he walks away.

"Yeah," Natsu says to empty air, frowning. "We're _great_ actors."

* * *

 _hELLO EVERYONE i've risen from the depths of real life hell, this chapter is well overdue!_


	13. Chapter 13

Lucy sits outside the resort's main entrance, watching Oracion Seis clamber out of their bus to an enthusiastic Kinana and nervous Erza. She slumps against the bench she's sitting on as Kinana and Erik share a long hug. Erza and Jellal exchange what Lucy assumes to be pleasantries, both of their faces bright red, Meredy and Sawyer teasing them the entire time. Sorano even 'accidentally' bumps into Jellal so he falls into Erza, who blushes even harder. Lucy didn't think that was possible.

With a sigh, she leans back and closes her eyes.

"You seem to be in a good mood today."

She opens one eye, only to see Levy's amused expression. Juvia stands behind her, looking more curious than anything, blue hair falling in front of her face. Lucy slides towards the far end of the bench so the two girls can sit down. They do, and it's then that she realises Levy doesn't have Lily with her. She's become so accustomed to seeing the black cat in her friend's arms that she can't help but point it out.

"Did Lily finally find someone else to curl up to?" she asks with a light laugh.

Levy smiles, shrugging one shoulder. "I told him he should _probably_ hang out with Gajeel today. He's been getting jealous of how much Lily loves me."

Juvia hides her giggles behind her hand. "I don't think Gajeel is used to Lily finding comfort in people other than himself. It took him a couple of months to get used to Juvia, and other than the two of us, he didn't really talk to anyone else. Juvia was surprised that he took to Levy so quickly."

Lucy briefly wonders whether Juvia is talking about Lily or Gajeel himself, but before she can even think to ask, Levy changes the subject (and is it just Lucy, or is she blushing a little?) "So, what's got you so down." She nudges Lucy's shoulder.

The reminder of her earlier inner turmoil forces the smile off Lucy's face. She doesn't answer, at least not verbally. Instead, she turns back to the parking lot, where the Oracion Seis team are heading towards the beach so they can see the view of the ocean. Erik has his arm around Kinana, and whether they're willing to admit it or not, Erza and Jellal are walking so close together that their shoulders are touching. It isn't the first time Lucy wishes she had someone to put their arm around her, but it's the first time she's had someone in mind. She's decided she doesn't like it.

From the corner of her eye, she sees Levy and Juvia follow her gaze. Understanding dawns on Levy's face, and Juvia seems wistful, wearing a small smile. Lucy would feel embarrassed if she didn't see the way her friends' faces change. It's as if they're feeling the same way she does, and the thought comforts her a little. She isn't the only one.

"They're so _adorable_ ," Juvia says, gesturing to Kinana and Erik, who are whispering to each other as they watch the bustling activity on the beach. "Juvia assumes that's Erik? And that the man besides Erza is Jellal?"

Lucy nods. "Yep, that's them. Must be nice to have someone waiting for you at a nice place like this."

All three girls sigh, almost in unison.

It's Levy who quickly breaks the sullen mood. "Come on, there's no use sighing about this now. Let's go down to the beach. I'm pretty sure Cana said she was going to verse some of the guys at drunk volleyball."

" _Any_ time Cana plays volleyball is drunk volleyball," Lucy says, rolling her eyes, but she stands anyway. Anything to distract her from her love problems.

* * *

Nighttime sees all of them decked out in their costumes once again, but not because they're filming. The arrival of Oracion Seis means they now have the equipment necessary for a high quality photoshoot. Lucy doesn't know how they managed to acquire it, considering how expensive it is, but she has a feeling Kinana had something to do with it. Perhaps even Erza, if Mira managed to prod her enough. Fairy Tail seems to have quite a few connections, which is useful, but also a little intimidating when Lucy really thinks about it.

Lights and tripods have been set up around the forest. Some of the characters have sets and props, like Cana with her tent and crystal ball, but others like Lucy herself need nothing but themselves and their costume. They'll be taking solo shots first, then those who are in groups or duos will get together and have their time to shine. Lucy wonders how her photoshoot with Natsu is going to go. With the nature of their characters' relationship, it's bound to make her nervous, embarrassed, or both. Probably both.

Her solo shots come out fantastic, if she does say so herself. Years of attending high-profile functions with her father meant she had to learn how to be photogenic, and it's something she never unlearned, which she's thankful for. Some of the photos are of her by a tree, peering around with curiosity that could only belong to the celestial princess. Others are of her gazing at the full moon with a wistful expression. He favourites are the ones where it looks as though she's cupping the stars in her hands, and with a few adjustments, she thinks it will look even more realistic.

All in all, she's feeling fairly confident by the time her and Natsu's joint photoshoot rolls around. Natsu is joking around as usual, and she knows Laxus won't take any nonsense, so this will be done sooner rather than later. At least, that's what she assumes. Then she spots Mirajane making her way towards the director-only zone behind the tripod and internally freaks out.

She's _doomed_.

Natsu doesn't seem bothered by the change of plans, if he's even noticed at all. He bounds over to her with his usual grin on his face. "Let's get this over with quickly so we can hit the hay, yeah?" He yawns, as if to punctuate his statement. "Natsu needs his rest."

"Natsu is gonna have to wait," Laxus calls out as the two of them centre themselves in front of the camera. Lucy is relieved to see him there, but Mira is right there next to him, and she doesn't trust the smile on her face. "We need to take pictures first. Mira, go wild."

Doesn't Laxus realise he's giving the _soul of matchmaking satan_ power over them?

"Okay, you two, hold hands," she tells them, and before Lucy can react, Natsu has intertwined their fingers without a second thought. It must be nice to be that oblivious. "And sort of turn on an angle so you're facing away from each other. And channel your inner-actor. You are your character in this exact moment, and you're thinking of the character next to you. The expression your character has when they think of the other should be on your face!"

It could be worse, Lucy supposes. She turns as Mira instructed her to and takes a deep breath as she taps into the celestial princess' mind. A soft smile makes its way onto her face, and she bows her head, as if she's embarrassed or shy. The celestial princess is always happy when she thinks of the dragon king, but also nervous, as she isn't entirely sure what he thinks of her. That must be what she's portraying, because Mira doesn't seem to have a problem with it. In fact, she is incredibly happy as she tells a grumbling Laxus to take the picture.

A few flashes go off before they're allowed to switch poses. Natsu lets go of her hand, and she can't help but feel the cold air drift across her empty palm.

"Next! Embrace just like the celestial princess and the dragon king would. You know what I mean - all close and cozy," Mira says, and Lucy has to fight her oncoming blush. She and Natsu have hugged, sure, but not for so long.

Natsu just turns to her with his arms as wide as his smile, and she can't help but roll her eyes as she settles herself into them. What else is she supposed to do? She can't just leave him hanging like that. It has nothing to do with how inviting he seems, how warm she knows he is (and she's proven right the moment her arms touch his bare torso - why does his costume have to be this way?), of course not.

She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, ignoring the satisfied sound Mira makes. It might just be a photoshoot, but she's going to indulge, just this once. Or so she says. She knows if she's given the opportunity to hug him like this in the future, she would without hesitation, and the thought surprises her more than it should. Since when was she this far gone? It's as if acknowledging her crush opened up an entire can of worms, and those worms are her feelings and desires.

Unaware of her inner turmoil, Natsu's arms slide around her back and hold her securely in place. They make her feel safe, and she wonders if this is how the celestial princess feels whenever the dragon king vows his protection. She doesn't have to wonder, though, because the celestial princess is a character that belongs mostly to her at this point, and if anyone were to know what she would think, it would be Lucy. Yes, this must be exactly how she feels.

She buries her face in his chest as the camera flashes, not moving until Mira tells them to. Once again, she feels goosebumps on her skin as they let go, but she doesn't rub her arms. She doesn't want to give away that she misses hugging him.

"Alright, last one!" Mira says cheerfully, and Lucy almost breathes a sigh of relief. She only just manages to hold it in. "Intertwine your fingers! On both hands this time. And look into each others' eyes. Try not to go cross-eyed!"

Lucy doesn't know how she's going to do this. Staring into Natsu's eyes isn't something she wants to do because they're forced to do it, but as usual, he doesn't seem that concerned. He just gives Mira a quick salute before turning to her and threading his fingers through hers. She stares at their hands for a split second before looking up at him, not surprised at all that he's giving her an encouraging smile. He always seems to be doing that these days. She sends him a brief one in return before closing her eyes and once again channelling the celestial princess' emotions.

When she opens her eyes again, Natsu's expression is far more serious, but it's not the type she would be scared of. It's almost thoughtful, not to mention a little unsure, and she wonders if that's what he's seeing as he looks at her. She doesn't have enough time to consider it, though, as the camera flashes to her right. She doesn't even flinch. She's so enamoured at this point that it takes longer than necessary to break eye contact. It's only when Laxus tells them they're done that she steps away, an uneasy smile on her face.

Natsu stretches, looking at the night sky. "That's a wrap for me!"

"Not so fast, Dragneel," Laxus says. "We still need a few combat photos with the dragon king and the nature spirits, so get over here."

Natsu groans and heads towards their director. Lucy knows she can stand beside Mira and view the photos they just took, but she doesn't want to, especially when Mira smiles at her as though she knows something Lucy doesn't. It's unnerving. No, she'll settle for heading _away_ from the set, thanks.

She takes a seat on the grass, making sure she isn't creasing her costume. With a sigh, she lies back and lets the night air cool down her face, which she knows has a pink tinge to it at this point. She can feel it. She just hopes she can spend the rest of her night in (relative) peace.

"So, what was that I just saw?"

Apparently, all her hopes are in vain.

When Lucy opens her eyes, she sees Levy standing over her, a rare feat for such a small girl. She's clad in her pixie costume, hair curled and clothes nice and sparkly. The only thing that doesn't fit with the innocent, well-meaning fairy vibe is the cheeky grin on her face. A grin that never means good things when it's directed at Lucy. It's like Mira all over again, and she sighs as she sits down.

"We were just doing our job," she says as Levy finds a spot of her own on the grass. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing," Levy says, sincere. "But I saw the way you two didn't look away immediately after the last picture. You know there were other people around, right?"

Lucy would nudge Levy if the other girl was finished with her photos, but alas, she will be needed on set soon. She settles for a frown. "I just wanted to be sure the picture had been taken, that they were actually finished with us, that's all." Then all of Levy's sentence catches up with her and she pauses. "What do you mean by _'the two of you'_?"

Levy looks at her, head tilted to the side. Her face is almost unreadable. "Well, _neither_ of you looked away at first."

"Doesn't that just prove what I said?" Lucy says, not skipping a beat. "We were just doing our job, acting in-character. You need a couple of seconds to get in and out of character, you know?"

Levy doesn't seem convinced, and Lucy knows why. She knows what Levy is trying to get at, how that might seem to other people, but she knows the truth. She and Natsu are both dedicated to their jobs. Sure, on her side, things aren't purely professional, let alone platonic, but that isn't a reason for her to make decisions with clouded judgement. She isn't about to believe that Natsu, one of the friendliest and outgoing people she's ever met, thinks about her in the same way she does about him just because of a single stare. Especially when they were supposed to be in-character in the first place.

"I've known Natsu for a long time," Levy eventually says. The smile she wears is a patient one. "Since the orphanage. He cares about everyone, but there are ways you can tell who he cares for just that _little_ bit more. That's all I'm saying."

Lucy would reply, but Laxus calls for Levy before she can. She hops up and heads off with a quick word of parting and a brief pat on the shoulder, and Lucy doesn't know if she wants to know more, or whether she wants to block the entire conversation from her memory.

* * *

They all agreed that each member of the channel who had an acting role in the film would post one of their solo shots on their Instagram account all at the same time, just to get people excited. One image will be on the official channel account a little while later, but of course, none of their fans will be receiving an answer yet. They are going to ride this hype train a little bit longer.

Lucy is alone in her and Natsu's room when the time comes to post their pictures. She has the magical-esque photo of her pretending to hold the stars in her hands ready to go the moment her phone signals that it's noon, and she presses ' _post_ ' immediately, both excited and nervous. She gives it a few minutes before she checks her comments, and she almost squeals when she sees all the support.

 _'LUCY LOOKS LIKE A GODDESS OH MY GOD'_

 _'um fairy tail wyd these people are trying to give me a heart attack'_

 _'wHAT IS GOING ON'_

 _'A TRUE QUEEN'_

 _'I ONLY STAN TALENT. GORGEOUS, GORGEOUS TALENT.'_

Giddy from all the compliments, Lucy spends the next half hour scrolling through her feed, appreciating the comments on both her own photo and everyone else's. Posting their pictures all at the same time has the intended effect; people are going _insane_. Everyone is trying to figure out what's going on, why they all look like fantasy characters, when they'll be releasing their next project. She loves being in the know.

Then she refreshes her feed and her stomach drops.

The channel's official account has posted its photo of choice, and of course it would be this one, _of course_ it would be. She and Natsu are the main characters, after all. It's the story of the celestial princess and the dragon king. The story of their homes, and how love creates an entirely new home for the both of them, one that doesn't require bricks or tiles. She should have expected this.

Yet here she is, astounded that her and Natsu's foreheads were almost touching during that photoshoot, the one where they're looking into each other's eyes. Their expressions are more intense than she thought they were. She knows that they're just acting, that this is a work of fiction, but she knows that her own pining is so real. She looks into her own eyes and doesn't see the celestial princess' feelings, but her own.

She shrieks into her own hands.

* * *

 _didn't expect to see me back so soon? yeah, me neither. but when you get inspiration, you get inspiration!_


	14. Chapter 14

_'tHEIR FACES I'M YELLIN'_

 _'am i the only one who wants to smush their faces together and be like 'now kiss'?'_

 _'WHAT IS THIS WHAT IS HAPPENING'_

 _'u guys i know this is just for a video or smth but i'm gonna die'_

 _'THEY'RE HERE GIVING US WHAT WE WANT AND AT THE SAME TIME REALLY NOT GIVING US WHAT WE WANT'_

Natsu locks his phone and slides it underneath his pillow. He's been keeping an eye on the comments on both his own photo and the official channel account's photo, but he keeps being drawn to the latter. While he knows that the two of them are just acting (at least he _thinks_ he's just acting), he can't ignore all the comments. He knows that Mira is in charge of the official account. This must be her strategy to gain hype, and it's working.

He's seen comments like this before. Just a few stray ones on his or Lucy's videos, occasionally on some of the others' if they're both featured in their videos. He never paid them much attention, since comments like that are just part of the job, but knowing what he knows now about his own feelings, he can't help but be more conscious of them. He won't think about it too much, though.

Yet when he tries to distract himself, he ends up thinking of other things he'd prefer not to. He looks at his own picture and at the excited comments and wonders how his father would feel about all this. Would he be proud? Surely, he would be. The further he goes in life, the more he fears forgetting his father. He has a few memories of him, a few photographs and keepsakes from when he was alive, but there is only so much they can do. As time passes, his old memories make way for new ones, but he doesn't want to let go. Not yet.

He's thinking so hard that he doesn't notice Lucy leave the bathroom, pyjamas on and hair damp. "Natsu? Are you alright? I thought you'd already be asleep."

Shaking himself from his thoughts, he looks over at her, and it's not hard to tell that she's tired herself, but she isn't making any moves towards her bed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking."

"What about?" she asks, and this time she does move, sitting on her bed where Plue and Happy are curled up together, already asleep. "If I'm allowed to ask."

He chuckles at her politeness. "Just about my old man, I guess."

Her smile is sympathetic, and he looks away briefly. "I know that feeling."

"Oh, right." Lucy's mother passed away, too, didn't she? Maybe she'll understand, then. "I'm just wondering if he'd be proud of me, where I've ended up. I think he would be."

"I think he would be, too." Lucy is about to slide into her bed, but once she spots Happy and Plue, she thinks better of it. "I just think it's amazing what you did. What all of you did."

Natsu slides further to the edge of the bed, patting the spot next to him for Lucy to sit on. "What do you mean?"

"Well, when I was still living with my dad, we did a few charity events at orphanages," she says, moving to his bed, sitting on top of the covers. "They weren't the worst places I've ever seen, not like the old movies would make you think, but there was a definite lack of morale there, especially for the older kids. You guys were able to come together and make something _fantastic_ , pave the way for yourselves. I never would've been able to at your age."

Natsu shrugs, turning on his side so he can get a better look at her. "Well, like I said, we were all bored one day, and Gramps had a camera he said we could use. Everything just kinda blew up from there."

"Still, though, it gave you an opportunity and you did something with it." He doesn't think he deserves the admiration in Lucy's voice. Perhaps it's because at this moment, it's all directed at him, even though she's talking about all of them. They should be here to listen to her praises. "It takes a lot of creativity and brainstorming to have a channel like Fairy Tail. I always looked up to you guys for years. I was only able to binge-watch all your videos after I moved out, but what I say still stands."

"Thanks," Natsu says, because it's all he can say. Fans have told them what the channel has done for them over the years, but this feels different. He can't put his finger on why. "How long were you watching us for?"

Lucy hums as she thinks. "Since I was still in high school, so for a while now. I didn't get a lot of time to spend on the internet, at least for fun and not for my studies, since I was always so busy, but I was browsing after a pretty bad day and I found one of your skits. It cheered me right up. I made sure to watch you guys when I could after that. I wish I'd had something like that after mum... Well, you know."

Natsu nods. He does know.

"What was your mother like?" He doesn't really think the question through before asking it, but it's out there now.

Lucy is silent for a few long seconds, and Natsu considers backpedalling until she speaks, looking straight ahead at the wall opposite the bed. "She was amazing. I remember exactly what she looked like, though that could be because she looked a lot like me. Whenever I think of her, I think that's what angels must be like. She always had this aura of compassion and kindness, and she _always_ had time for me, even though she was busy helping dad with work. She'd read me stories and even make some up, and she'd always encourage me to be creative. She's the reason I love books so much. And why I love the stars. We used to go stargazing on the front lawn and she'd point out all the constellations she knew of."

The wistful smile that made its way on Lucy's face throughout her dive into her memories falls slightly and, with a slight burst of panic, Natsu realises that tears are pooling in her eyes. "She was never the healthiest person in the world. She wasn't particularly _bad_ , at least when I was really young, but as she grew older and the company _also_ grew and her responsibilities increased, she just... I think it was inevitable. She passed away peacefully, so that was something to be thankful for, but it's still hard."

She sniffs and wipes her eyes. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Natsu says immediately, sitting up and scooting closer, intending to be a sense of comfort. "If you need to cry, just let it out. That's one of the first things gramps told me when I got to the orphanage. He told me I could let it out if I wanted to, whenever I wanted to. It's normal. Even if you're an ugly crier."

Lucy manages a weak laugh and smile at that, which he considers a success. She isn't trying to hide her tears anymore, either. "This is the first time I've talked about her. Like, _really_ talked about her. I'd talk about her to Spetto and Bero - they're employees that I grew up with - but I've never had to _describe_ her to anyone before. They already knew what she was like. Talking about her like this just brings it back, I think. I miss her. I really... I _really_ miss her."

The tears come pouring down after that. Lucy is a near-silent crier, though Natsu wonders if she's just being conscious of the people in the other rooms, or maybe even of him. He watches helplessly for a few moments before wrapping an arm around her shoulders and giving her one of his pillows to hold. She buries her face in it and draws her knees up to her chest, muffling her quiet sounds even more. It's then that he notices the goosebumps on her arms and back and tugs the top blanket off of his bed, covering her with it.

It's a good ten to fifteen minutes before Lucy's tears have run dry, reduced to a few stray sniffles here and there. She must be exhausted, as she places the pillow behind her head and lies down, but she doesn't close her eyes.

"Thank you," she says, voice a little hoarse from crying.

"No problem," Natsu says with a grin, lying down beside her and shifting their blankets so they're up to their shoulders. He doesn't need them that high (his natural body heat is higher than most, for whatever reason, though he considers that a good thing), but he does it in case she does. "Feel better?"

"I do," she says, and the smile she gives him has more of a spark in it than before. It's more _Lucy_. "I think I needed that."

Looking at her now, he has to agree. Maybe she's just lost energy via crying, but she's more relaxed, not as stiff. "We all need it at some point."

Silence envelops them again, though it isn't uncomfortable. Natsu isn't a silent person most of the time, and on the off-chance that he doesn't fall asleep right away and he's alone with only the quiet for company, he'll distract himself. He doesn't feel the need to do that now. He doesn't want to sleep, not just yet, and he wonders if it has anything to do with Lucy's presence next to him. Or if it's _because_ of Lucy's presence next to him.

"Hey, can I ask..." Lucy hesitates, and Natsu turns his head to look at her. She's lying on her side now, her hair falling over her face, and he has the sudden urge to push it away. He resists. "Can I ask about your dad? You mentioned him earlier, so..."

Without even confirming if asking is okay or not, he launches into his description. "He was the _best_. I guess I'm biased, 'cause Wendy would say the same about Aunt Grandeeney, but it's true. He was hotheaded and had a bit of a temper if he thought there was trouble and sometimes went a bit too far -"

"- Like father, like son, then?"

Natsu playfully narrows his eyes and nudges Lucy, but says nothing else. She must be feeling better if she can joke around. "But he looked after me. Wendy, too, when she needed looking after. He was even the one who taught me how to blow things up safely." Well, _somewhat_ safely. "He was a single parent, but he made me feel like I didn't need two parents. As far as I was concerned, he was all I needed. He was a really good teacher, too. He knew how to explain things so I'd get it. I'd never say these things to his face, though. It'd just inflate his ego, even from beyond the grave."

He pauses for a moment before continuing. "He and Aunt Grandeeney died at the same time. Us kids were at school and they were coming to pick us up when there was an accident. You hear about them all the time on TV, bastard drivers running through red lights and hurting innocent people. Long story short, we didn't have any other relatives, so we were sent to the orphanage. I know we keep saying 'orphanage', but it was more of a permanent home for us. We weren't treated like kids that had to leave as soon as possible, get adopted and all that. We were all welcome there. Gramps made sure of that." He smiles at the thought.

"I'll always be upset that my old man died, but... I don't regret anything. If that hadn't happened, I might not be part of Fairy Tail," he says. "And I love Fairy Tail."

When he looks at Lucy again, her eyelids are drooping, and it's apparently contagious as his begin to feel heavy, too. Before the two of them can slip off into dreamland, Lucy manages to utter a single sentence.

"I love Fairy Tail, too."

* * *

When Natsu wakes up the following morning, Lucy is already gone, along with Happy and Plue. He takes one look at his phone's clock and understands why. It's almost noon, and Lucy rises earlier than he does most days. Besides, the pets need to be fed, and it's never a good idea to do so in their room. Happy can get a bit _excited_ when it comes to food.

Laughing at the thought, Natsu grabs the video camera he left sitting on his bedside table last night and opens it up, pressing record once it's focused on his face. "Good morning, everyone! Only just, though. It's almost noon." He quickly shows the time on his phone. "I don't know how I slept so long since my phone's been blowing up since those photos went out. I hope you guys liked them! But I can't tell you what they're for just yet."

With an exaggerated sound, he pulls himself up and throws on the nearest shirt he can find. "Lucy's already gone out, and she's stolen my cat, so let's go find her, shall we? This is a _journey_ to find Lucy in this huge ass place."

He slips on his shoes before grabbing the camera once more and heading out the door. Filming almost everything in sight, he hums to himself, letting his (future) viewers see for themselves how nice the resort is. He doesn't encounter any of his friends on their floor, so he takes the elevator, stopping his humming only once to comment on the strange elevator music. It sounds almost like someone's saying ' _Perfume_ ' over and over again.

Once he's on the ground floor, he heads over to the buffet and grabs a turkey leg, stuffing it in his face. He even turns the camera to himself to show just how sloppy he's being.

" _Lu-Lu-Lucyyyyyyy_ ," he sings, mouth still full. He scarfs it down fairly quickly. " _Lu-Lu-Lucyyyyyyy_!"

"Oi, what are you doing?"

Natsu is surprised to see Laxus up and awake before he is, especially with the schedule he's been keeping lately. Perhaps Freed is the one who woke him up. He's sitting with his group now at one of the dining tables, though only he and Freed are paying any attention; Evergreen is preoccupied by her phone and Bickslow is busy digging in to some all-you-can-eat bacon.

"I'm looking for Lucy!" Natsu says, approaching the table. "Have you seen her?"

Surprisingly, it's Bickslow who answers. Apparently he was listening after all. "I think I saw her earlier with Happy and her dog. Plue, right? She was feeding them."

Natsu turns the camera back to himself. "Interesting, _interesting_. So they've been fed. _Excellent_."

Laxus narrows his eyes, though Natsu isn't sure whether it's out of confusion or suspicion. Or both. Probably both. "I don't know what you're trying to do, exactly, but don't drag us into it."

With his question already answered, Natsu just grins and salutes before carrying on his way. He knows Lucy has been spending as much time at the beach as she can, and that Happy and Plue will gladly follow her anywhere, especially if she's the one who fed them. A pet's loyalty lies with their stomach. It's a universal rule.

He continues his song as he heads down the path between the resort and the beach. " _Lu-Lu-Lucyyyyy_! Where could she be? She's an _enigma_."

He's too busy looking at the camera's screen that he doesn't notice the figure jump in front of him until it's too late and they're already in the shot. Gray's face takes up a good portion of the screen, as though he doesn't have plenty of space in this lovely garden-ish area to move about. Natsu knows that he does it to annoy him, but it doesn't mean he's going to let it slide. When does he ever?

"Get out of my way, ice butt, I'm on a mission," he says, jabbing Gray in the side, only to be slapped on the shoulder in retaliation.

"Yeah, to find Lucy, I heard."

"Gray!" Natsu actually looks up from his camera this time, right as Juvia stops by Gray's side. She takes one look at the camera, blinks, then smiles and waves at it. Perhaps she's not as much of a natural as Lucy is when it comes to showing herself off (though maybe he's biased), but at least she's polite. "Juvia didn't realise Natsu was filming. She's sorry!"

Natsu laughs and adjusts the camera so Juvia is in the centre of the frame. It's hard to avoid Gray, though, especially when she's standing so close to him. "It's fine, I'm just looking for Lucy. Have you seen her?"

Juvia turns towards the beach and holds her hand above her eyes to shield them from the sun. "Last Juvia saw, she was on the beach with Levy and Erza. It wasn't too long ago, so she's probably still there." Before Natsu can thank her, she's turned back to Gray and tugging at his bare arm. "Gray! Do you want to come build a sand castle with Juvia? She's never made one before!"

As fun as it is to watch Gray struggle with Juvia's earnest expression, Natsu decides to leave him on his own to continue his search. The path begins to widen as grass turns into sand and it's then that he's able to see Lucy in the distance. As Juvia said, she's right beside Levy, but Erza is nowhere to be seen. Happy, Plue, and Lily are also lounging around, attached to the two girls.

" _Lu-Lu-Lucyyyyyy_!" Natsu calls out, gaining the two girls' attention. Whatever conversation they were having stops as they turn to look at him. Levy starts giggling when she sees him bounding up to them and Lucy raises an eyebrow, looking as though she's trying not to laugh. He decides that's a good sign.

"We've found the Lucy!" is all he says at first when he reaches the girls, turning the camera towards himself once more to give a victory cheer along with his usual grin. He quickly focuses on them again. "I was wondering where you'd taken my cat, and now I know. I know I've joked about this before, but I really think he likes you more than me. He's a traitor."

He zooms in on Happy, who is perfectly content snoozing on Lucy's legs and doesn't stir.

"Can you blame him?" Lucy says, flipping her hair over one shoulder. "I'm practically perfect in every way."

Natsu snorts and looks into the camera, as if to say, _'Can you believe this shit?'_ before turning the camera off and changing the subject. "Where's Erza? I asked Juvia while I was looking for you and she said Erza was with you."

"She's up that way," Levy says, gesturing to their right, further up the beach. "We decided to give her some privacy."

Dumping the camera on one of the girls' beach towels as he sits beside them, Natsu follows Levy's pointed finger. Sure enough, there's Erza, and she's not alone. He vaguely recognises Jellal, having only met him a few times, several of those being the previous few nights and in passing, but he knows enough about him to realise that Erza acts a little differently around him. It's nothing too noticeable, but especially in a moment like this where the two of them are alone and close together with no one around to hear them, she acts almost bashful. As if she isn't trying so hard to be one of their main leaders. He understands why the girls left her be.

"It's only a matter of time before one of them makes that step forward," Lucy says, then adds, "I hope."

Levy watches the two with a small smile before sighing and lying down on her towel, stretching her arms above her. "It must be nice to have someone like that. Mutual pining is a trope I wish happened more in real life."

Lucy watches Lily sit almost right on top of Levy's shoulder, back straight, as if guarding her. She looks like she wants to say something about it, perhaps something related to Levy's comment, but seems to think better of it. "Right? Why can't real life be more like books."

The two girls start talking about books, a conversation that is completely lost on Natsu, so he instead gives attention to Plue, who has wandered up to him for a pat. Every so often, though, he sees Erza and Jellal out of the corner of his eye. They've lost a bit of their awkwardness now, which is a good sign. He wonders if they can see what the other feels. He hopes so, for their sake.

"Hey, Plue," he says, low enough so only he and the dog can hear. "What exactly is mutual pining?"

Rather than answering him - because he's a dog - Plue gives him a lick on the cheek and jumps ship, heading for Lucy's lap instead.

"Yeah. Figures you'd be no help."

* * *

 _hellooooo there! the second part of this chapter was actually based on a video i watched ageeees ago and seemed like something natsu would do. half the time i can't tell if this is a serious fic or just me messing about. and holy shit it's past 1am oops._


	15. Chapter 15

"Okay, you guys, people should be coming into the chat now," Reedus says.

Lucy leans forward on the couch so she can see the computer screen. She can feel Juvia's presence behind her, though Gajeel remains on the very end of the couch, seemingly uninterested. It appears to be his usual state of being, so Lucy isn't that concerned. He was forced into doing this just like the rest of them (sort of - it isn't as though they were manhandled and locked in the room until the stream is over), so she isn't that surprised at his flippant attitude, if she ever is.

As people begin commenting in the chat, Lucy grins and she and Juvia readjust themselves on the couch so they're comfortable, but still able to see the comments. They'll need to for what they're about to do.

"Welcome, guys!" Lucy says once they have enough watchers. "As you guys are probably aware, Juvia, Gajeel, and I have yet to have our 'embarrassing induction' that seems to be a key component of adding new members to Fairy Tail, and so we're doing all of ours at once. However, we need help from you guys, 'cause we'll be playing truth or dare, in a manner of speaking, so we'll need you guys to give us questions and dares."

"The first round will be truth, so we'll answer one question each, then the next round will be dare, so you will give us dares that we have to do," Juvia continues. "Of course, there are a few rules, specifically for the dares - you can't ask us to do anything illegal or anything that could get us kicked out of this lovely resort. We are allowed to deny answering questions or doing dares that one of the other two pick out for us, but if we do, we have to take a sip of this."

She and Lucy raise their mugs of beer with Gajeel simply gesturing to his own and saying, "We stole it from Cana's not-so-secret stash, so if we go missing after this stream, you'll know why."

"Just for saying that out loud, Gajeel's going first," Lucy says, zeroing in on the chat again. "Alright, guys, someone give Gajeel a 'truth' to answer."

The suggestions start rolling in at rapid speeds, and Lucy needs Juvia's help choosing. Eventually, it's Juvia who finds something she likes, and she stands up straight with a bright smile on her face before looking at Gajeel.

"Okay, Juvia has one! The viewers want to know how you met Lily!" Juvia quickly looks at the camera. "For those who don't know, Lily is Gajeel's cat."

Gajeel shifts in his seat, hesitant, and Lucy says, "You can always just drink the question away, you know," pointing at his beer.

With a frown, Gajeel clicks his tongue. "No way, my mug's gonna be filled to the brim by the time this is over, I'm not backing down from anything." He clears his throat and just barely looks at the camera. "There was a huge storm and I was coming home from work - if that's what you wanna call it - and there was this mangy cat shivering in the rain, scared shitless of the thunder and lightning, so I did what any reasonable person would do and took him home. There, end of story."

"You make it sound so loveless, Gajeel!" Juvia protests, turning back to the camera. "He nursed the cat back to health, he almost never let Juvia touch him until he was absolutely sure she wouldn't hurt him."

"Shut up!" Gajeel's voice is menacing, but Juvia just laughs, completely desensitized to his steely nature. Even Lucy can't help but smile. It took a while for her and the others to realise that this is just how Gajeel is, and it isn't that he doesn't care, as much as he might have them believe he does.

Once Juvia's laughter has died down, Lucy is quick to pounce, taking every opportunity to prolong her inevitable doom. "Alright, Juvia's turn!" She eyes the chat yet again, and she notices Gajeel doing the same, albeit less eagerly. He probably wants to get Juvia back.

"Okay, let's start with something easy," Lucy says. "Out of all the Fairy Tail members, who would you marry and why?"

"Gray," is Juvia's immediate answer, though this isn't a surprise to anyone in the room. Juvia and Gray may not be involved in most of the same projects on the channel, but every Fairy Tail member knows just how fond of him she is, and Lucy doesn't think that it comes from her being such a big fan, not anymore.

"That was predictable as fuck," Gajeel says, watching the chat go crazy.

Lucy scans the comments as much as she can, most ranging from people not being _too_ surprised to other claiming they knew all along. She wouldn't be surprised if they were telling the absolute truth. Besides, Gray has always been considered one of the most popular members.

Several people ask for an explanation, and while that wasn't part of the initial question, Juvia seems happy to give it. "Well, Gray actually saved Juvia's life! She'd always been a big fan before that, though."

"It's true, I saw it," Lucy says, then puffs her chest out, ready to bring forth the dramatics. "He was a knight in shining armour, unable to watch the scene before him without doing anything, he just _had_ to go in and save the princess from being hit by that silver lexus."

Before Juvia can gush further about her near-death experience, Gajeel finally leans forward enough to properly see the chat. "Enough about that. Payback time, Bunny Girl."

Lucy splutters an objection, crossing her arms. "That was one skit! Let it go!"

Gajeel lets out that weird laugh of his, though it's Juvia who beats him to the punch. She appears to be thoroughly enjoying this game of theirs, even though it's supposed to be embarrassing, though Juvia has proven time and time again to be an honest person, if not a little naive. She eventually shoots up so she's sitting with her back straight as she turns to Lucy.

"Lucy! Who was the last person you kissed?"

The answer to that is easy enough. She and Natsu had to kiss plenty of times for the final scene of their movie, but she can't tell people that. Revealing just the name would lead fans to speculate things that aren't actually true, but she can't explain herself either, since they have to keep the details of the movie quiet until the premiere.

Before she can form an answer, however, there's the sound of heavy footsteps, and the door slams open soon after. Everyone turns to stare at Romeo as he gasps for breath with his hands on his knees and his face red.

"Guys! Bisca! The baby! Labour! Now! Nearest hospital!"

In an instant, everyone is moving. Lucy is up from the couch halfway through Romeo's disjointed explanation, and she quickly addresses those in the livestream, even though they're likely to have heard such a loud message.

"Uh, sorry! Emergency baby! Gotta wrap this up!"

* * *

Fairy Tail has dealt with many crazy happenings over the years, but an incoming baby isn't one of them, and it shows. Romeo ran to everyone he could find to tell them what was happening, then texted those he couldn't, leading to them all congregating in the car park until they received the hospital name from Alzack, who took Bisca the moment she knew she was in labour, as any diligent husband would.

It's twenty minutes later that they all receive a text with the name and address of the hospital, along with an update (Bisca's fine, just in a lot of pain), and everyone springs into action. They jump into their cars and speed down there as fast as the legal limit will allow them. Romeo rides with Lucy, and he's on the edge of his seat the entire ride, her lookout while she keeps her eyes on the road. No one lets another car out of their sight, and they travel along the highway like a pack of wolves.

"There it is!" Romeo eventually calls, though he doesn't have to. The building stands out completely, something that becomes apparent the closer they become, and soon each and every car is turning into the parking lot.

It takes everything in Lucy not to run through the hospital's automatic doors. Logically, she knows that Bisca can't be giving birth right this second, that it usually takes a while, but she's so eager to just be there. The others must feel the same way, as they're all power-walking as fast as they can. Erza even needs to grab both Natsu and Cana by the collar to keep them from actually sprinting. It's a short distance between their cars and the main building, but it feels like forever.

Despite being the one to hold others back, Erza is the first one to the reception desk, leaning over it a little too eagerly. Her expression is fierce as she says, "We're all here for Bisca Connell? She should be in maternity."

The receptionist just stares for a moment, mouth open wide, until she can compose herself enough to say, "The maternity ward is on the third floor, but you have to all stay in the waiting room!"

She has to raise her voice for the second half of her sentence as everyone has already begun running for the stairs, the elevator too slow for such a fast-paced group. Lucy is among them, skipping stairs two at a time, and in the back of her mind she wonders when she became just as energetic as the rest of them.

They settle down once they're in the waiting room, only because there's nowhere else to go. They try to minimize the amount of space they're taking up with only half of them sitting on chairs, the other half making room for themselves on the floor. It should feel cramped, but it doesn't, not with how close they all are. Everyone seems to invade each others' space on a regular basis. Perhaps it came from most of them growing up together in the one place, but it was hard for Lucy to get used to at first. Now it's second nature.

"Has anyone texted the master?" Mira asks from her spot on the floor.

"Relax, he's in the group chat," Laxus says, leaning back in his cushy chair. "If he hasn't seen it already, he will soon."

Conversations begin between small groups after that, and Lucy takes out her phone, a habit for when she's impatient about something. She doesn't really have anything to do. She knows that Plue will be taken care of, as Kinana asked Richard to look after the pets while they were gone. With that already out of the way, she instead checks her social media, starting with her twitter. She isn't surprised to see how bombarded it is with curious fans.

 **steponmevijeeter** : _oH MY GOD IS EVERYTHING OK_

 **oracionus** : _how's bisca?_

 **fairytailz** : _WE'RE GONNA HAVE A BABY FAIRY SOON I'M SO EXCITED_

Lucy smiles, their concern warming her heart, and she quickly sends out a tweet that reads, _'at the hospital! (im)patiently waiting for updates!'_ punctuated with some heart and sparkle emojis. Fairy Tail's fanbase is no joke, and her entire timeline is full of messages of excitement and well wishes for the Connells and the baby. There are, predictably, plenty of memes here and there to keep her entertained.

Half an hour passes with her joining in on conversations while browsing sites on her phone, and she's about to give the device's battery a rest when her screen lights up to indicate a call. She doesn't know who could possibly be calling her when everyone she ever talks to is right here, but then she sees the caller ID and stops short.

' _Home_ '

She hesitates. The last thing she wants is for this wonderful event to be ruined, but she also knows that her father wouldn't call her unless it was important. At least she hopes so. Her teeth sink into her bottom lip as she weighs her options, and it takes so much time that the phone vibrates long enough for the call to end. She thinks the decision has been made for her until the screen lights up only seconds later and she realises it must be urgent.

"Sorry, I have to take this," she mutters to no one in particular as she stands and heads to a mostly-abandoned hallway. The lights are dimmer here, and she shivers from the lack of heat the other members were giving her from sitting so close together.

Bracing herself for her father's voice, she taps the green button and says, "Hello?" She hopes her voice isn't shaking.

But it isn't her father on the other end. Instead, she hears Spetto's familiar voice cry out, "Miss Lucy!" It surprises her so much that she forgets to speak for a few moments.

When she finally finds her voice, she says, "Spetto? Why - don't get me wrong, I love hearing from you, but - why are you calling?"

Spetto sucks in a deep breath and Lucy holds hers. Something about this entire situation doesn't feel right, and there is a small part of her that is naturally curious, but her instinct is telling her that this likely won't be something she wants to hear. Does her father want something from her again? She thought he'd learned when she'd confronted him. Did that not work? Yet something feels off. Something tells her this isn't just another scheme her father has concocted, but much worse.

"It's your father, Miss Lucy. The master, he - he has - the doctor said - he has pancreatic cancer."

It takes a moment for the words to sink in. Her first instinctive reaction is to give a strained laugh and ask if all of this is some sort of sick, twisted joke, but she knows Spetto would never do such a thing to her. She's being completely serious, and it's that thought that makes her stomach drop, the rest of her insides curling into themselves like knotted tree roots. A lump rests in her throat.

"Is it - do they know if it's - if it's terminal?" Her last word is whispered, barely audible, as if simply saying it will make it more real.

Spetto is silent for a few long and agonizing seconds before she says, "I'm sorry, Miss Lucy."

Lucy can feel her breath becoming shallower, her mind swirling with questions. "How long? How long have you known? How long does he - does he _have_?"

"A few weeks, we've known," Spetto says quietly, but her voice is loud and clear in Lucy's ear. "Your father didn't want you to know, since he knows you've been out of the city. He didn't want to bother you, but I know you would've wanted to know, no matter how bad it was, so I'm - I'm going behind his back."

A bark of near-hysterical laughter leaves Lucy's throat, because of course her father wouldn't want to tell her. He's always been stubborn, especially when he thinks he's doing something for her benefit. Despite all the terrible things he's done, she knows he isn't completely heartless, that there was once a time where he thought about her well-being. Perhaps those days weren't entirely over like she thought they were.

"And my other question? How long?"

Another pause from the other end of the line. "The doctor said it could be a few weeks to a few months. She's attempting to narrow it down, but we're just not sure. It shouldn't be within the next couple of weeks, though."

A silver lining. It's faint and more of a dull grey than silver, but it's something. "Okay, I'll be down as soon as I can."

"Miss Lucy, I know you're at the hospital waiting for your friends' baby. I assure you that the master is able to keep himself afloat for longer. The last thing he wanted was for you to drop everything."

Lucy chews the inside of her cheek, biting hard enough for it to sting, but physical pain is nothing compared to the storm within her. After so many years, she genuinely believes that her father was finally learning just how much his attitude had hurt her. She thinks she finally got through to him. And for what? For the universe to take him away before she can face him again with the two of them as equals? As a father and a daughter who are certain that the other loves them? Where's the fairness in that?

Laughter echoes down the hallway, and she turns back to where her friends are huddled together, oblivious to her inner turmoil. She thinks of Alzack and Bisca, of their child who has yet to be born but already has the love of family and friends and fans alike. This is such a momentous and joyous occasion. How can she ruin that? No matter what she thinks of to try and get out of the situation, to leave early without arousing suspicion, there is always a roadblock. They'll focus on her issues instead of the amazing moment of a child being brought into the world.

Clenching her free hand into her fists, she faces away from the waiting room and says, "Spetto, tell dad I love him. Tell him - tell him I'll be back later, that he _has to_ hang on and wait for me like I - like I waited for him all these years, got it?" She means to sound firm, but she can hear the tears in her own voice. It isn't an order, but a plea.

She just has to hope her father is able to hang on.

"Of course, Miss Lucy," Spetto says, and Lucy can hear the tears in her voice as well. "I'll see you soon."

They say their goodbyes and hang up, but Lucy continues to clutch her phone like a lifeline. Her knuckles turn white and her fingertips begin to burn as she desperately wills her tears not to spill over. She leans against the wall and closes her eyes as her mind becomes fuzzy, like static, trying to regain proper reception after such a powerful shock.

More laughter erupts from the waiting room, and she has to force herself not to faint.

* * *

 _SO_

 _it's been a while huh_

 _i'm going to try and update this more often but we'll see how that goes with coursework and other stuff skldfjsdkfskdjf i jUST WANNA WRITE_

 _but let me just say, i've been so surprised the last few months whenever i see activity on this story. it's really what's kept this story in my mind and made me want to keep going, so thank you so much, all of you!_


	16. Chapter 16

It's hours later that Makarov finally bursts into the waiting room with shaky knees and a red face, yelling, "Is the baby brat here yet?!"

Several people jump from their seats to either greet him or usher him into a comfortable chair, Natsu isn't sure which, and while he would usually join them, he's far too preoccupied at the moment. His mind keeps wandering to the expression Lucy made when she returned from taking her phone call. Sure, she was smiling, but the welcoming light to her eyes just wasn't there, and it still isn't. She's only said a few short words since then.

He's wanted to ask what's wrong since he first saw her re-enter the room, but he hasn't wanted to raise the suspicion of the other members, just in case they aren't aware of how weird Lucy's acting. He doesn't know why he's aware of Lucy's little tells, but he is. That's all that matters and there isn't anything to be gained by searching deeper into that. All he needs is an opportunity to talk to her without anyone else overhearing.

Someone _somewhere_ must be looking out for him, as Juvia vacates the seat next to Lucy to talk to Gray. Lisanna, who'd been at Lucy's feet a moment ago, has slid over to where her siblings are sitting. He quickly stands from his place on the cold floor and plonks himself into the chair beside her. His gaze is unintentionally drawn to her phone, and he's able to see that she's been googling something, but he isn't able to see what as she locks her phone the moment she realises he's there.

"Hey, Natsu," she says with that forced smile she's been wearing for the past few hours. Even when she was acting for the movie, her happiness was more genuine. Right now she looks defeated.

He cuts right to the chase. "Are you feeling alright? You've been kinda off the past few hours."

Something in Lucy's smiles wavers and, for a moment, Natsu thinks she's going to tell him what's wrong. Then she shakes her head and says, "No, I'm fine, I think I'm just tired. Once we're back at the resort, I'll probably sleep for _hours_."

Natsu doesn't think it's a _lie_ , per say. Lucy _does_ seem exhausted, though he can tell there's more to it than just how packed their schedule has been for the past month. He wants to help her, but he can't force her to open up to him, especially since she seems so set on keeping this from all of them. He'll have to think of a way to lift her spirits without knowing all the details.

Before he can proceed with his first plan (funny cat videos), a nurse who has been keeping them updated for the past few hours walks into the waiting room. Everyone's eyes turn to her, and at first she'd seemed intimidated by delivering news to so many people at once, but now she doesn't even flinch. She even has a bright grin on her face. A good sign, indeed.

"Bisca's starting to push! It might be a little while yet, we think it might take another half hour, but this means we're almost done!"

And just like that, the light returns to Lucy's eyes and she's smiling along with everyone else, no longer having to force herself to be energetic. Her legs begin bouncing and she turns to him with such an excited expression that he can't help but mirror it. Whatever she's worried about has been momentarily forgotten, and perhaps that's what she's wanted this entire time: a distraction.

She unlocks her phone again, thumb tapping her passcode so fast that it becomes a blur. "I've been giving small updates," she says once he gives her a questioning look.

He opens his mouth slightly and takes out his own phone. Live updates weren't something he thought of earlier, and he wishes he had. "I totally forgot about that," he admits.

She laughs and taps out her tweet. Sure enough, it appears in his timeline a moment later. All it says is, ' _SHE'S PUSHING_ ', but he thinks it gets the point across. Poking his tongue out between his teeth, he writes out a reply that is just as quick.

 **salamandeeer** : _at lucknlucy: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH_

Another laugh slips through Lucy's lips, a fit of giggles that grows loud enough that she has to cover her mouth. Her reaction is completely worth it.

* * *

It's another forty-five minutes before the nurse reappears, telling them that Bisca wants them all to come and meet the baby, but they have to go in small groups of two or three so they don't overwhelm her. Makarov is the first to go, and he takes Romeo with him. Everyone else is left waiting, wondering about the baby's gender and what its name is.

Lucy has taken to twitter again for yet another update, and despite it being past midnight at this point, he's sure that there are plenty of fans online, hanging onto every word. It hasn't just been them who's waited for this baby, after all. The fans have been there every step of the way, to the first time Alzack and Bisca met, to when they announced their relationship, to their wedding, and now to the birth of their child. It was - and still is - a love story happening in real time, and one of the many reasons Natsu loves the channel so much.

Once she's slid her phone back into her pocket, Lucy leans against the back of the chair, stifling a yawn. "Okay, now that we're not on the edge of our seats anymore, I'm really getting tired."

"You wanna sleep?" Natsu asks. He thinks he'll be able to handle another hour or two before he starts drooping.

Lucy shakes her head. "Not until I've met the baby. I'm _determined_." She says it while struggling to keep her eyes open and, in all honesty, it's one of the most adorable things he's ever seen.

During the time it takes for several other groups to visit Bisca and Alzack, Lucy almost falls asleep several times, but he manages to keep her awake with some basic conversation. Her earlier demeanour is still a concern in the back of his mind, but he puts that aside for now. He won't question her about it while they're here.

Once it's their turn, Natsu nudges Lucy and whispers, "Let's go."

Wendy comes along with them, and despite it being such a late hour, there's a spring in her step. He hasn't seen his cousin this happy since they adopted Carla. He knows that she'll likely feel the need to crash after the excitement wears off and there isn't anything else to do but sleep, but he'll cross that bridge once he gets to it. It wouldn't be the first time he's had to carry her to the car after a late night, and it probably won't be the last.

The nurse stops in front of a room to their left, and Natsu is the first to peer his head inside. Warm light from a single lamp is all that illuminates the room aside from a few machines that are there to monitor both mother and child. The baby in Bisca's arms is swaddled in blankets, but it appears to be awake if the way it's reaching out for Alzack's finger is any indication. He slips into the room as quietly as he can and stands at the end of the bed.

Wendy gasps quietly once she sees the child, and it's only then that Natsu realises that Alzack has his vlogging camera. Of course he does. He points it at Wendy as Bisca speaks.

"This is Asuka. She keeps wanting to stay awake so she can see everything," she says.

"She's so small," Wendy whispers.

"You were that small once, too, you know," Natsu says. He was still fairly young when Wendy was born, but he remembers just how small she was, perhaps even smaller than Asuka. "The doctor was saying how she thought you were just full of air because you kept crying out nonstop."

Wendy pouts at him, but says nothing, instead opting to focus on Asuka instead. Lucy slips past them so she can sit in the extra chair in the room, right by the bedside. A small smile is fixed on her face, and there is an unmistakable glisten to her eyes, and Natsu can't help but cover his mouth to stop his laughter.

"Lucy, are you crying?"

Lucy glares at him half-heartedly, and it loses even more validity as she sniffles. "Shut up, Natsu, I've never seen a newborn baby before, okay? I'm just so happy for both of you."

The last part is directed at Bisca and Alzack, who share a sweet smile. Bisca bounces Asuka lightly in her arms and says, "Would you like to hold her?"

Lucy blinks. "Is that okay?" She stares at Asuka, her eyes wide. "I feel like I might break her, she's so _tiny_."

Bisca laughs lightly, already lifting the baby towards Lucy. "Don't worry, just make sure her head is in the nook of your arm and the rest will come easily."

Lucy doesn't seem so sure, but she takes Asuka into her arms anyway, bouncing her gently the way Bisca was only moments before. She brings her arms closer to her chest and a little gurgle escapes Asuka's mouth. The tiny child lifts her hand as much as she can when she's still only so small, almost testing the movement out, attempting to touch Lucy's face. Natsu shuffles closer so he can dangle his finger above the hand, something for her to latch onto.

It doesn't quite work, and Alzack laughs as he says, "She hasn't quite figured out how to grip things yet."

The sigh Lucy lets out is a contented one. "She's so _cute_."

Beside Natsu, Wendy giggles softly, covering her mouth with both hands. "I'm an _auntie_."

* * *

As their large group finally begins to file out of the hospital, Natsu insists on driving Lucy back in her car. She keeps blinking to keep herself awake, and he's concerned that she won't be able to keep her focus on the road, especially since she would be mostly alone otherwise. Romeo might be riding with her, but he's ready to pass out right in the middle of the parking lot. He wouldn't be any help.

"You don't mind?" Lucy asks, too tired to even protest.

"Of course I don't," Natsu says.

He heads over to Gray to hand him his keys with strict instructions not to damage his car (Cana is the only other option, and that's automatically out - _no one_ trusts Cana to drive), earning an eye-roll, but not an all-out fight. Neither of them have the will to, though Natsu doesn't know whether that's because they're tired or because they're in a good mood from finally meeting the child Bisca has been carrying for nine months.

Lucy gives him her keys and slides into the passenger seat. Romeo manages to buckle himself into one of the back seats before slumping against the window, out like a light, and Natsu gives a low chuckle as he starts the ignition.

The ride back is quiet. Natsu prefers to have music while he's driving, but with Romeo asleep and Lucy on her way there, he doesn't want to disturb them. His thoughts make enough noise as it is. Now that the excitement of Asuka's birth has passed, he's back to thinking about what Lucy is so concerned about. She doesn't have to tell him if she doesn't want to, and he would never force her, but it's frustrating at the same time. He'll be there for her either way, but it'd be easier if he knows what he's being there _for_.

When they stop at a set of traffic lights, he turns to look at her. She's finally asleep now, curled up in the passenger seat with her body facing towards him, breathing deeply. Blonde strands are escaping her poinytail and falling in front of her face. The frown that was present a few hours ago isn't there anymore, washed away by the peace of sleep, and he decides he wants to keep it that way.

Lucy stirs as he pulls into the resort's parking lot, rubbing her eyes and looking around her, gaining her bearings. Once satisfied, she looks at him and gives him a small smile.

"Thanks for driving, Natsu," she says as he hands over her keys.

He only grins at her in response before exiting the car and opening the door to the backseat so he can nudge Romeo awake. He likes to think he's a strong guy, but after the day's events, he doesn't think he has the willpower or strength to carry a teenage boy all the way to his room. Romeo yawns as he wakes, an apology lost in there somewhere that Natsu shrugs off.

They, along with the rest of the exhausted channel members, trudge into the resort's foyer and file into the elevator. No one has the energy to use the stairs at this point. Natsu briefly wonders whether Happy and Plue have been fed, then remembers that Kinana mentioned taking care of it, and he's relieved that there's one less thing to do before going to bed.

When he and Lucy stumble into their room, Plue and Happy are curled up on one of the armchairs in the far corner of the room. Only Happy is disturbed by the noise, though all he does is lift his head a little and give a short flick of his tail before settling back down, tucking his face between his and Plue's bodies. Neither of them move when the bedside lamps are switched on or when the two of them fall onto their beds like sacks of potatoes. They lie there for goodness knows how long before Natsu finally speaks.

"I need to get up and brush my teeth, but _nah_ ," he half-mumbles into his pillow.

Lucy groans into hers. "Everything can wait 'til morning right now."

She switches her light off and he follows suit, readjusting himself so he can sleep better. It's only as his head hits the pillow a second time that he remembers just what he wanted to ask Lucy, and despite the two of them being completely exhausted, he can't help but open his mouth. He never can, really.

"Hey, Lucy?"

There is a small hum of acknowledgement from her side of the room. At least she's still awake.

"About earlier..." He stops, struggling to find proper words through his lethargy. "In the hospital, when I asked if you were okay and you said you were, were you really?"

Silence envelops the room aside from the summer breeze outside their window and the subsequent _whoosh_ of the curtains. Natsu stares at where he knows Lucy is, aware of the faint outline of her silhouette and how still she's being. He's starting to think she's fallen asleep when he hears a shaky intake of breath, almost as if she's trembling, and his protective instincts are automatically on the rise, but he stays quiet. He wants to give her the chance to speak first.

"My dad has cancer."

The way she says it, he can tell she's trying to remain composed, but her voice breaks on the last word and gives her away. Natsu is kicking his bedcovers off immediately, drowsiness forgotten as he takes the two or so steps between their beds and puts a hand on her back. She's shaking and her hands are covering her face - a sure sign that she's crying. He doesn't hesitate to lift the covers on the opposite side of the bed and climb in next to her, facing her when she doesn't protest.

He gently takes her wrists, slowly pulling her hands from her face. Even in the darkness, he can see the way her tears are falling sideways down her face, her eyes showing him just how lost she really feels. It tugs at his heartstrings and he lets go of her wrists so he can wrap his arms around her and pull her close. She stains his shirt with tears, but couldn't care less. All he does is rest his head on top of Lucy's and let her cry it out. It's what she needs right now.

He doesn't know much time passes before Lucy resurfaces, her palms pressed against his chest, but he finds he doesn't care. She could have fallen asleep in his arms and not stirred for the next week and he wouldn't have cared. As long as it makes her feel better, she'll do it.

Finally able to speak again, she says, "It's terminal. He has - he has a few weeks, _at least_ , but that's - it's not much."

It isn't, and Natsu won't tell her otherwise. He isn't about to lie to her. That would be even crueler than what she's going through right now.

"He could have a few months at _best_ , the doctor says, and I _hate_ not knowing, and then I feel guilty because I wasn't there when he _needed_ me, and -" She cuts herself off to take another shuddering breath and Natsu runs his hands up and down her forearms in an attempt to soothe her. The shaking subsides, but she lets out a choked sob. "I'm going to lose my _dad_."

That hits close to home. He's been there before, crying into someone's arms and wondering how someone could be with you one day and gone the next. It doesn't matter how old you are; the loss of someone close to you, someone you grew up with, is never easy. Despite Fairy Tail's run-in with Lucy's father, the last thing he wants is for him to pass away.

"Natsu," Lucy says, the first time she's properly addressed him since the beginning of her explanation. The way her eyes water makes something within him ache. "What am I going to do?"

Natsu stares at her intently, then wraps his arms around her once more. It's for both their benefits - to comfort her and so he doesn't have to see her crying face. "Right now, we should sleep. We'll figure out what to do in the morning."

Lucy's hands clutch his shirt and he feels her nod against him. He pretends not to feel the new wave of tears against his shirt as he closes his eyes and slips into dreamland.

* * *

 _did i really just update quickly this is a miracle_


End file.
